The next One World ABC seminar will take place this Thursday, September 28, at 9am UK time and on-line. Speaker: Carlo Albert, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Title: Learning summary statistics for Bayesian inference with Autoencoders Abstract: In order for ABC to give accurate results and be efficient, we need summary statistics […]  ( 7 min )

The next One World ABC seminar will take place this Thursday, September 28, at 9am UK time and on-line. Speaker: Carlo Albert, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Title: Learning summary statistics for Bayesian inference with Autoencoders Abstract: In order for ABC to give accurate results and be efficient, we need summary statistics […]  ( 7 min )

Crafting a Narrative Tempo that Captivates and Resonates Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

5 key steps to get an agent’s attention with your query Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

If there’s one Portuguese food item you already know, it’s most likely the country's renowned egg tarts (in Portuguese, this delicacy is known as pastel de nata, or “cream pastry”). Pastéis de Belém, a pastry shop just west of Lisbon, claims to be the originator of what is ostensibly the country’s most famous pastry. Legend has it that the sweet—which consists of pastry cups filled with an egg and cream custard—was probably first baked at the neighboring Jerónimos Monastery. When Portugal’s monasteries were closed in 1834, a former monk-slash-baker moved shop to a sugar refinery a few doors down, and in 1837, the confection known today from Portugal to Hong Kong was born.  Today, there are several brands selling custard tarts in Lisbon, but Pastéis de Belém continues to be a family-run company with no branches or franchises. The tarts are only available at the original location in Belém. As many as 20,000 are baked here every day following the original recipe, the fillings of which are mixed in a “Secret Office” where the precise ingredients and proportions are measured—details said to be known by only seven humans. The result is a tart with a salty, buttery crust, and a rich filling with the texture of a light custard and a distinctive charred surface.  ( 13 min )

Ginjinha is a type of cherry liqueur with close links to Lisbon, and in and around Largo de São Domingos, a square in the city’s historical center, there are at least five bars that specialize in the drink. The most famous of these, and quite possibly the first, having opened in 1840, is A Ginjina. The space is roughly the size of a large closet, the marble walls etched with prizes won nearly a century ago. When you approach the bar at A Ginjinha, you’ll be asked one question: “With or without them?” The query is a reference to booze-soaked cherries, and the correct answer is “With.”  From there, you escort your tiny glass to the square—there’s no seating at A Ginjinha—shoes sticking to the syrupy floor with every step, and have a sip in the perpetual Lisbon sun. The drink consists of grape pomace brandy supplemented with sour cherries, cinnamon and a generous amount of sugar. It’s sweet and fragrant, goes down easy and is deceptively powerful, especially if you’ve opted for those cherries.  ( 13 min )

This former cosmic ray station is located near the summit of Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park. The structure was originally built in 1902 to serve as a weather observatory. It was operated by Norman Sanson, the curator of the Banff Park Museum, and the Canadian federal government’s official weather observer. They climbed the mountain over 1,000 times to collect data at the observatory. The information that the observatory provided was used to aid national weather forecasts and provide warnings of wildfires, droughts, snowstorms, and floods. In the 1930s, emerging weather forecasting technology rendered the observatory obsolete, and it was abandoned. However, the observatory acquired a second purpose when it was rebuilt to serve as a laboratory for researching cosmic ray particles in the atmosphere. Cosmic rays are a type of radiation that form outside of the solar system and can provide information about interstellar phenomena such as supernovas. The National Research Council completed the renovation of the station in 1956 for Canada’s participation in the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958. The University of Alberta at Calgary took over the operation of the station from 1960 to 1978, until the station was closed in 1981. Nine cosmic ray stations were built across Canada, and the Sulphur Mountain station became the most important of these nine stations due to its high elevation. Today, the remnants of the station are still accessible by hiking. The summit offers a beautiful vantage point from which to see the city of Banff and the surrounding mountains.  ( 13 min )

Located adjacent to an oxbow lake near the city center, the Brownsville Cemetery was founded in the mid-nineteenth century. Placards throughout the grounds detailing the lives of its occupants—from the original settlers to Pancho Villa’s troops, providing a tantalizing glimpse of the area’s colorful history.  One unconventional element of this particular cemetery is that many of the tombs are above ground, possibly in a nod to the burial traditions of merchants from New Orleans who migrated to Brownsville for trading opportunities with the neighboring Mexican port city of Matamoros.  ( 13 min )

The animal world is full of harbingers of doom—at least, according to superstitions. From the Tower of London’s ravens (whose departure would signal the fall of an entire nation) to the average black cat crossing your unlucky path, plenty of critters warn of woe. In Ominous Animals, we explore the lore—and the science—behind these finned, furry, and feathered messengers of impending calamity. When a loved one fell ill in 17th-century England, a rhythmic tap, tap, tap echoing from the walls could set families on edge. Some likened the sound to the ticking of the Grim Reaper's clock, signaling a death soon to come. The faster the tap-tap-tapping became, the closer death was. The real culprit was no harvester of souls, however. It was an insidious insect boring through the old oak walls: …  ( 19 min )

“Worms will crawl over your face! Ghosts will roam the aisles!” Dr. Silkini warns as the Frankenstein monster slowly comes to life onstage, “If the lights go out, stay in your seats!” Suddenly possessed by a fit of rage, the monster strangles the hunchbacked assistant and charges into the audience with a roar. As the front row squeals in anticipation, there is a blinding flash, and the lights suddenly go off. Pandemonium erupts in the pitch black theater. There are screams, macabre laughter, wild howling. Glowing skulls appear and disappear. Something slimy slaps your head and slithers over your face. You furiously bat away what indeed feels like worms. A strange luminous form floats overhead. On the stage, a kick-line of skeletons dance and then fly apart. The little boy next to you tur…  ( 24 min )

St. Giles Cathedral, the 900-year-old Church of Scotland, is situated along the Royal Mile in the capital city. This major thoroughfare is a bustling artery that connects Edinburgh Castle with the Palace of Holyrood, the official royal residence of visiting British monarchs. Inside this gothic and ornate house of worship are many objects depicting the long, and often times tumultuous, history of Scotland's seat of government. Take, for instance, a bronze sculpture of a rather mundane household object, a stool. Designed by the Scottish artist Merilyn Smith in 1992, The Cutty Stool represents an event that allegedly took place on July 23, 1637. As the story goes, a lay woman by the name of Jenny Geddes objected to the preacher attempting to quote from the bible in English. At the time, K…  ( 14 min )

Discovered in 1850 by English archaeologist Austen Henry Layard at the ancient Assyrian palace of Nimrud, in modern-day Iraq, the Nimrud Lens is a curious piece of rock crystal dating back to the late 8th century B.C. Roughly ground into a slightly oval shape, its size is 38 millimeters in diameter and has a focal point and length equivalent to a 3× magnifying glass. Its function is unclear, and it could have been a magnifying glass or a burning glass, a tool used to start fires by concentrating sunlight. As the Assyrian artifacts often were intricately engraved, Layard suggested that the lens may have been used as a magnifying lens to read these small inscriptions. Italian scientist Giovanni Pettinato proposed that the Assyrians used the lens as part of their telescope, which would explain the extensive knowledge of astronomy in the Babylonian civilization. Some people believe that it was the earliest optical lens in history, perhaps an obscure out-of-place artifact. The general idea of its identity seems to be much less fascinating, though. Many researchers believe that it was just a piece of decorative inlay, which got its lenticular abilities purely by accident. Whichever story you buy, the artifact sits on display at the British Museum today in quite a mysterious manner.  ( 13 min )

Atlas Obscura’s Wondersky columnist Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science journalist and author of the upcoming Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are (January 2024, Random House). She regularly shares the stories and secrets of our wondrous night sky. The ancient Chinese Shu Ching, or Book of Documents, includes what may be the oldest written account of a solar eclipse. It records that, on Oct. 22, 2134 BC, “the Sun and Moon did not meet harmoniously.” People believed that during an eclipse, the Sun was being devoured by a heavenly dragon; in fact, the word for “eclipse” was the same as the word for “to eat.” In China at the time, as in Babylon 1,500 years later, people would bang a drum and shout in an attempt to…  ( 20 min )

This bridge was originally built by the Erie Railroad and was once part of the Newark Branch. It is a bascule bridge, also known as a jackknife bridge, originally built in 1922. It spanned the Passaic River between Harrison/Kearny and Newark. But this structure is probably better known for its role in a pivotal scene in the 1982 movie musical Annie. Harrison used to be an impressively industrial town, once called the "beehive of industry." The bridge was primarily used for freight. Though Harrison still has a PATH station that connects it to New York City, there are plenty of old partially hidden railroad lines from the industrial days. This particular station was originally built as a double-track structure. After commuter service ended it was converted to a single track, then shut down in 1977.  The drawbridge was left in the open position. In 1982, the bridge was used as a filming location for a scene at the end of Annie. The titular redheaded orphan climbs a drawbridge while trying to escape a couple of con artists posing as her parents in order to get a reward. The scene was partially filmed at the New Jersey bridge, and partially at a soundstage in California. Since its appearance in that famous scene, locals refer to it as "Annie's Bridge." In fact, most probably do not know the actual name: NX Bridge. It is considered trespassing to get close to it, however, that does not stop many youths in the area from not only getting close to the bridge but also climbing it. Every now and then you can find a flag of some sort hanging there, until it gets taken down.  ( 14 min )

Just south of Avenue P on the west side of Brooklyn's Ocean Parkway, a small, one-foot-tall granite rectangle juts out of the ground with a mysterious "3M" carved into its traffic-facing side. This inconspicuous stone was once a mile marker on Ocean Parkway, a street inspired by the grand boulevards of Paris and Berlin, built between 1874 and 1880 in the middle of Brooklyn, New York. Originally, Ocean Parkway was a shortcut for pedestrian and horse traffic, as well as strollers and carriages, to Coney Island Beach from Prospect Park. When the parkway was first built, bicycles still had yet to be invented. This mile marker was one of 11 placed every half mile from Prospect Park Circle to the end of Ocean Parkway in Coney Island. According to the Brooklyn Park Commission, which managed the parkway, it is likely that they were erected around 1876. But over the decades, by 2000, all but the three-mile marker by Avenue P and the five-mile marker on Neptune Avenue had been removed. The five-mile stone was subsequently removed around 2010 when a bus shelter was installed. Today, only the three-mile marker remains.  Mile markers were a common way to mark private roads from colonial times until the early 20th century. They told the coaches and riders how many miles they had covered and how much further they had to go. Several roads in the city had similar passing signs: the old Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway) in Upper Manhattan, as well as Jackson Avenue (now Northern Boulevard) in Queens, Kings Highway in Brooklyn, and the Boston Post Road between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts.  ( 14 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Travel is sometimes like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re going to get. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we share stories of places that blew us away, and those that didn't live up to the hype. We want to hear your stories about the places you've visited that far exceeded—or failed—to meet your expectations. Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. (Just so you know, our mailbox will cut you off after two minutes so please call again if you get disconnected) You can also record a voice memo and email it to us at Hello@AtlasObscura.com. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 14 min )

The R Consortium recently reconnected with Poo “KH” Kuan Hoong, founder of the Malaysia R User Group (Also on Facebook). We talked with KH last year when he spoke about... Continue reading: R Conference 2023: Malaysia’s Largest Face-to-Face Annual R Conference

Excel BI’s Excel Challenge #301 — solved in RIn a recent LinkedIn post, ExcelBI threw down an interesting challenge: Find the Polydivisible numbers from a list. This caught my attention, and I decided to tackle this using R. In this post, I’ll walk you... Continue reading: Polydivisible Numbers puzzle

Introduction Continue reading: Horizontal Legends in Base R

OSIRIS-REx’s treasure trove from asteroid Bennu includes material rich in water and carbon

Neuron activity shows that the brain uses different systems for counting up to four, and for five or more

A surprisingly complex galaxy cluster suggests that in the search for dark matter, nothing is as simple as it seems

Supreme Court justices declined to decide whether the Biden administration is placing too high a value on the cost to society of spewing carbon and other planet-warming gases

A company that creates genetically modified pig organs for transplants hopes to test its product in human trials if regulators approve them

A needle-like tower, hung with sensors, "sniffs" the air above the Arctic circle for signs of catastrophic thaw in the sodden ground below.

Claudia Goldin mined 200 years of data to show that greater economic growth did not lead to wage parity or more women in the workplace

Slow-moving stars at the Milky Way’s outskirts suggest our galaxy may be far lighter than previously believed, with profound implications for dark matter

For the third time in a year, coolant is leaking from a Russian module aboard the International Space Station

In addition to finding where citrus come from, researchers have pinpointed the genetic origins of the fruits’ tart taste

Call it stuffing or dressing, this cozy side dish is inextricably tied to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Whether it's a classic version made with white bread or Southern-style with cornbread—or made with no bread at all—stuffing can't help but steal a bit of the spotlight at the holiday table.  ( 14 min )

We went through Le Creuset Prime Big Deal Days discounts to find the best deals, based on our equipment reviews.  ( 13 min )

Plus: 1,400 attend a solidarity gathering at St. Louis Park’s Beth El Synagogue; bird flu outbreak reported at a Meeker County turkey farm; no Holidazzle in 2023; and more.  ( 6 min )

The United States has not confirmed that there’s a direct involvement from Tehran in Hamas’ operation, but U.S. officials have acknowledged Iranians are indirectly complicit in training, funding and supporting Hamas.  ( 16 min )

The state’s macroeconomic consultant predicts the U.S. economy will grow 2.5% this year and the same 1.6% next year.  ( 12 min )

Supporters heavily outnumbered opponents at recent hearings on the changes, which would open most of the city to “missing middle” housing development.  ( 15 min )

Literacy is key to everything. We have found a synergy to uplift and support each other.  ( 11 min )

Plus: U of M researchers develop a portable MRI machine; meet the striking Allianz Field in-house production workers; the White Castle on Lake Street is closed for good; and more.  ( 6 min )

The city now has a more ambitious plan to reduce the amount of vacant land. It intends to tax it. A lot. Will it work? The idea, proposed by Mike Duggan, the city’s pugnacious mayor, is to replace Detroit’s current property tax with a split tax. In essence, assessors will distinguish between the value of […] The post Will Detroit go Georgist? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Hazel Meade. I think the last sentence is likely ... by M In reply to Nick. The proposal in question is for Detroit, ... by Phil S. In reply to PHinton. Trade policies killed Motown – once a ... by EdR In reply to Ryan. Detroit's mayor is on the right track. Dirt ... by surfie In reply to lcn. It's one way to drive the price of land down ... by mort main Plus 10 more... Related Stories “Why Women Won” The “Deaths of Despair” narrative is somewhat wrong Blast from the past, SBF edition  ( 7 min )

1. Alice Evans on Claudia Goldin. 2. Interview with Michael Lewis.  Yikes. 3. Russ Roberts tells me that he was not born in Ames, Iowa, though he did spend 1957 there (see this now-corrected post). 4. Kevin Phillips, RIP.  An early theorist of populism and its rise. 5. Bilal Coulibaly update. 6. Jason Farago piece […] The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to dan. Right, I think autism spectrum is a better ... by mkt42 In reply to ghhg. You have a brokerage account with $500k in ... by John In reply to John Hall. Michael Lewis was interviewed by Barry ... by Gridlock In reply to Cancelled for wongthink. I don't think that's at ... by andrew97 In reply to Reason. Here's what's simple: you believe in ... by Wait Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Matt Yglesias does an excellent job laying out the case against the “deaths of despair” narrative and putting it bluntly.  Over the past few years, Anne Case and Angus Deaton have unleashed upon the world a powerful meme that seems to link together America’s troublingly bad life expectancy outcomes with a number of salient social and […] The post The “Deaths of Despair” narrative is somewhat wrong appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Mark T. “Deaths of Despair” are kind of early ... by Steve Sailer In reply to Floccina. Prescription opioids and Mexican heroin ... by Steve Sailer In reply to JFA. I was involved in the “Deaths of ... by Steve Sailer “Case and Deaton, by contrast, have delivered a very ... by DanHessinMD In reply to Dino the Isaurian. “This type of cultural ... by EdR Plus 10 more... Related Stories On U.S. life expectancy disparities Campus censorship and Israel-Palestine Legacy Admissions  ( 8 min )

R&D investment reduces current profits, so short-term pressure to hit profit targets may distort R&D. In the data, firms just meeting Wall Street forecasts have lower R&D growth and subsequent innovation, while managers just missing receive lower pay. But short-termist distortions might not quantitatively matter if aggregation or equilibrium dampen their impact. So I build […] The post The costs of short-termism? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to LivelyClock. This may be the same reason ... by aaron In reply to Brent. I'm not sure that's true. In software, the ... by aaron The number one weapon against short-termism is strong ... by Brent In reply to rsm. Capitalism is only as efficient as the ... by Dinwar In reply to rsm. Compared to Nirvana? Sure Compared to ... by Mike Plus 6 more... Related Stories Legacy Admissions “Why Women Won” Do looks matter for an academic career in economics?  ( 6 min )

Israel’s asymmetric response is supposed to serve a deterrent purpose, Byman told Vox, but the country has also, at least in the past, had a vested interest in keeping Hamas in power. According to a 2017 research brief by the RAND corporation, Israel has the military capability to wipe out Hamas, but doing so could perhaps […] The post Israel’s previous game-theoretic strategy? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to M. > the law actually has a definition and ... by Yo In reply to aaron. Yo–Time for you to pick up a rifle and ... by Mishkilji In reply to Yo. Major false alarm. by Yo In reply to Sure. This seems too close to an argument that ... by M In reply to James N. Markels. LOL. Absurd, ... by Anti-Gnostic Plus 10 more... Related Stories The “Deaths of Despair” narrative is somewhat wrong A few implications Japan fact of the day  ( 7 min )

Also deposit convexity, closed-end muni bond funds and biased coin flips.  ( 2 min )

After giving my talk last month, Better Than Difference in Differences, I had some thoughts about how diff-in-diff works—how the method operates in relation to its assumptions—and it struck me that there are two relevant ways to think about it. … Continue reading →  ( 11 min )

Is writing seemly? Does the writer cut a respectable figure? Is it proper to write? Is it done? Of course not. Jacques Derrida, “Plato’s Pharmacy” Yesterday David Gunkel told said something puzzling. I have been trying to argue that “ChatGPT can’t write” in a sense that Derrida would acknowledge as such. David’s position is that … Continue reading Real Writing →  ( 6 min )

For now I am taking heart from an adage from Usenet days; that the internet interprets censorship as damage, and routes around it – new social media sites are popping up aiming to catch the flavour of the old Twitter while perhaps avoiding some of its weaknesses.  ( 4 min )

A lot of people are going to tell you that the Orioles, who won 101 games this year and have by all accounts at least half an above-average major league lineup still in the minors ready to play, are positioned to be a dynastic power in the American League for years to come. Nope. Wrong. […]  ( 7 min )

In recent years, astronomy enthusiasts have helped drive the development of science infrastructure in Europe’s youngest country. But Kosovo is still finding its bearings following a bitter war and continues to struggle with issues such as brain drain and limited job opportunities.  ( 18 min )

From Nick Tursi in Qatar: The sign says: ḥilāqat al-rijāl = “men’s shaving” For "Men's Trimming". That elongation of the short "i" is common among non-native speakers. Mauritians ask "where do you leave" (for "live"). Selected readings "A new way to resolve paradoxes" (10 /8/22) "Ockham's broom" (10/17/09) [Thanks to Devin Stewart, Joe Lowry, and […]  ( 7 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

AUSA: What did the defendant you about risk?Ellison: He said it was OK if positive EV, expected value. He said he was willing to take large coin flips – he talked about being willing to flip a coin & destroy the world, as long as a win would make it twice as good — Inner […] The post Blast from the past, SBF edition appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to LivelyClock. Or that everyone else was too risk ... by Oldcurmudgeon In reply to MikeP. ” “How could anyone think he is ... by EdR In reply to Bob. It is implied he had a prescription for ... by EdR In reply to Tom T.. Lol! “Number Go Up” is Faux ... by EdR The problem with SBF's consequentialist / utilitarian logic is ... by Publius Plus 10 more... Related Stories “Why Women Won” Union Busted That was then, this is now (median voter edition)  ( 6 min )

On college campuses the norm is this: At campuses that are very left leaning, students are way less likely to self censor on a bunch of issues. As campuses become politically mixed, students clam up. There was only one issue where this trend reversed – Israel-Palestine. pic.twitter.com/JnJPFSaWiP — Ryan Burge 📊 (@ryanburge) October 8, 2023 The post Campus censorship and Israel-Palestine appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Sure. Is there a reason you feel the need to ... by Sure In reply to Sure. Hold on; you think the left doesn't get ... by M In reply to M. US sanctions date back to 1950 and were ... by Sure In reply to Dorey. Even one is too many. by Some Toronto Guy There are two lines on that graph with negative slope. by Ben Plus 10 more... Related Stories Where have all the young founders gone? On U.S. life expectancy disparities Legacy Admissions  ( 6 min )

1. Summary of assembly theory.  Possibly very important. 2. This Tablet article about Iranian spying should have received more attention. 3. Different investments during times of conflict. 4. Notes on Ghana. 5. Larry Summers on the Harvard response to current events. 6. SSC evaluates his mini-grants. The post Tuesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Hazel Meade. How is not accepting refugees as bad ... by M In reply to Naveen K. “Firstly, how would you even identify ... by TSA In reply to Hazel Meade. The immigrants from our southern ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to It’s a tool. That value has yet to be ... by Dinwar In reply to M. How is not accepting Palestinian refugees ... by Hazel Meade Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

I admire but do not necessarily approve of the genius at UVA admissions who slyly inserted legacies into the essay prompt, yet shrewdly combined it with race, slavery and history to make the package defensible. If you have a personal or historic connection with UVA, and if you’d like to share how your experience of […] The post Legacy Admissions appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Why do children of staff get preference? Maybe you want to ... by KL In reply to KL. “Legacy” has changed. I'm teaching a ... by Michael Tinkler In reply to Really, a slavery denier?. None of the cited ... by Jon In reply to Ricardo. > calm down What makes you think I'm ... by PHinton In reply to Chris. Would conscripts even have the chance to ... by Steve-O Plus 10 more... Related Stories The “Deaths of Despair” narrative is somewhat wrong Campus censorship and Israel-Palestine How will we know when higher education is reforming itself?  ( 6 min )

Bowling alone was just the beginning: Even pizza, typically shared among family or friends, is downsizing. In February, Domino’s Japan, the nation’s largest pizza delivery chain, introduced My Domino’s, a meal set that allows customers to order a small, 7-inch pizza with two side dishes for a reasonable price. “Single consumers are growing, not only […] The post “Eating alone” appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to steve. A lot of international franchises have ... by Komori In reply to luzh. Great reference, I lol'd. by Tommy In reply to Bill Allen. It's officially named the Long Trail ... by Let me guess... In reply to Matt. My hazy memories of Italy are that most ... by Personal Pan Pizza Buff In reply to Derek221. Where is the empathy? Just because your ... by Untold Millions Plus 10 more... Related Stories Speeding Up Pharmaceutical Approvals by Recognizing Other Stringent Regulators  ( 7 min )

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column.  Here is the intro: When the revolution in higher education finally arrives, how will we know? I have a simple metric: When universities change how they measure faculty work time. Using this yardstick, the US system remains very far from a fundamental transformation. And: This system […] The post How will we know when higher education is reforming itself? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to JT. I’d bet 2×2 is at least modal… by Student In reply to Anti-Gnostic. “good students = good schools, ... by Roger Sweeny This is more evidence that folks who work at McDonalds scooping ... by jdb Nah, the problem with this noble-sounding proposal is that it ... by Carl Pham “How will we know when higher education is reforming ... by dearieme Plus 10 more... Related Stories The “Deaths of Despair” narrative is somewhat wrong Campus censorship and Israel-Palestine Legacy Admissions  ( 7 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

With its electroreceptor-spotted bill, horned pads where you might expect teeth, and status as one of only five species of mammals that lay eggs, the platypus was already one of the most unique creatures on Earth. And now researchers in the U.S. and Australia have found the animal exhibits another curious characteristic: fluorescence. This intrigued Kenny Travouillon, the curator of mammalogy at the Western Australian Museum, and his colleagues, including research associate Linette Umbrello. “It was the first Australian mammal found to be fluorescent,” Travouillon says. Science has already uncovered how frogs light up the night and birds glow under a blacklight, but this discovery entered new animal territory. They decided to shine a UV light on their museum’s mammal collection (includin…  ( 18 min )

While the Devil is occasionally used in church art to convey moral lessons and reinforce the consequences of sin, it’s unusual to find a combination of satanic imagery alongside local folklore within the context of sacred space. Though, one such exception can be observed on the exterior of Raus Church in southern Sweden, where a small stone face, believed to depict the devil, was strategically embedded above the main entrance to ward off trolls and malevolent beings. Legend has it that during the construction of this 12th-century sandstone church, a local troll, who detested the sound of church bells, caused trouble by moving the building materials across the stream every night. Frustrated, the builders abandoned the site and instead erected the church in its current location nearby. Still discontented with the situation, the troll fled 26 miles (42 kilometers) northwest to Kullaberg. While there, he confided in some fishermen, expressing a desire to return home but was prevented because of the "jingling gray mare," a reference to the church and its chimes, which he was too afraid to name directly. Three theories surround the stone head's origin. One suggests it represents Råå the Giant, credited with the church's construction, with the baptismal font serving as his hat. Another associates the face with Roland, a medieval Christian knight who achieved iconic status for his battles against Muslim forces in Spain. However, the prevailing belief today is that the head portrays the devil, employed as a safeguard against trolls.  ( 13 min )

This was the first dolmen identified as such in the Iberian Peninsula, in 1831 Numerous interventions since then have changed its original appearance. Structurally, it comprises a polygonal chamber formed by large, interlinked slabs with a covered passageway around six meters long (of which nothing now remains) and a large barrow that was partly removed in 1965 so that the dolmen was visible from the road. Human remains have been found all over the site (in the chamber, the passageway, and the barrow), along with objects dating from various periods. The evidence suggests that it was first used as a burial site in the Neolithic, and then re-used in the Chalcolithic. Many of the items found here have now disappeared. The original barrow measured around 30 meters in diameter. A number of fireplaces were discovered on it, which were likely used for ritual purposes. The barrow was later enlarged to, a diameter of 64 meters.  ( 13 min )

Built 60 meters underground into a bed of limestone, this declassified (NATO Cosmic Top Secret) nuclear bunker from the Cold War was meant to house the Danish monarch and government as a last bastion of democracy in the event of a nuclear apocalypse. The bunker is hidden deep in the Rold Forest in northern Jutland, hundreds of miles from Copenhagen. Its existence was kept a secret for many decades, and only revealed to the public in 2012. It opened as a museum in February 2023.  Construction started on REGAN Vest in 1963. It took some five years to built a bunker that was capable of withstanding nuclear war. The end result covered 5,500 square meters and was made up of more than 230 rooms capable of holding around 350 people.  ( 13 min )

James David Vaughn is credited with starting Southern Gospel Music and inventing the professional male gospel quartet.  He was an American music teacher, composer, songbook publisher, who founded the Vaughn Conservatory of Music and the James D. Vaughn Publishing Company. He is responsible for one of the first radio stations in Tennessee, WOAN, and the first record company based in the South, Vaughn Phonograph Records.  ( 13 min )

In 2003, a wine cabinet in Portland, Oregon, somehow made headlines. The owner of the foot-and-a-half-tall wooden bit of decor, Kevin Mannis, had listed it on eBay alongside an elaborate story. He claimed that the cabinet had previously been owned by a Polish Holocaust survivor and was inhabited by a powerful demon known as a Dybbuk. Since it came into his possession, he wrote, his life had been shaken by paranormal occurrences, from disturbing nightmares to intense feelings of being watched by an evil presence. The story of the Dybbuk (pronounced anywhere from dib-ick to dib-ook) is rooted in centuries-old Jewish folklore. However, I am Jewish, and I don’t remember my mother ever telling me and my sister stories about demons or phantoms (though I do recall some shades of mysticism from …  ( 22 min )

Each week in October, University of Manchester Egyptologist Nicky Nielsen will share an intriguing aspect of ancient Egyptian beliefs and traditions surrounding death and the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians shared the world they inhabited with innumerable otherworldly entities: invisible, yet with immense power. Demons haunted the desert wastes and goddesses dwelled in the marshes of the Nile Delta, but the spirits of the dead were omnipresent. Ancestor worship was an important part of household religion and the belief that the dead could not only be communicated with, but could also use their power to both help and hurt living beings, was an ingrained part of the ancient Egyptian belief system. To facilitate the transfer of offerings and messages from the living plane to the Afterl…  ( 18 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we head to a remote region of Russia, to the epicenter of what would become known as the Tunguska Event. On June 30, 1908, at 7:17 in the morning, a firey blue light streaked across the sky above Siberia, followed by a blinding flash and a cacophony of noise that sounded like artillery firing. Today, scientists still debate what happened. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 13 min )

The beauty beyond directness  ( 11 min )

Are You Prepared for the Initial Investment? Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Update (Oct. 11): While this post celebrated Harvard’s Boaz Barak, and his successful effort to shame his into disapproving of the murder of innocents, I missed Boaz’s best tweet about this. There, Boaz points out that there might be a way to get Western leftists on board with basic humanity on this issue. Namely: we […]  ( 23 min )

Update (Oct. 11): While this post celebrated Harvard’s Boaz Barak, and his successful effort to shame his into disapproving of the murder of innocents, I missed Boaz’s best tweet about this. There, Boaz points out that there might be a way to get Western leftists on board with basic humanity on this issue. Namely: we […]  ( 23 min )

I have just uploaded to the arXiv my paper “A Maclaurin type inequality“. This paper concerns a variant of the Maclaurin inequality for the elementary symmetric means of real numbers . This inequality asserts that whenever and are non-negative. It can be proven as a consequence of the Newton inequality valid for all and arbitrary […]  ( 15 min )

Levels of murder, assault, torture, and the like fluctuated greatly in the ancient world, according to new research

With the expansion of wind power—and the growth of turbines—comes challenges in areas that are unaccustomed to whirring blades

The European Space Agency says a software patch restored stability to its cosmos-mapping Euclid spacecraft — but slower operations could extend the mission

A heat dome that baked parts of South America in late September was made much more likely and at least 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter by climate change

New research suggests that solar storms interfere with the magnetic compass that birds use for long-distance travel

Science plays an enormous unseen role in keeping international avenues of contact open, even when political doors slam shut. We need to keep those channels open with China

Glasses that provide subtitles for conversations could be a boon to people with hearing loss

These mysterious spots of barren soil have fascinated scientists for years. Now evidence of their existence beyond two known locations is stirring up a fresh round of contention

Plus: Twin Cities Marathon organizers face another financial hurdle after cancellation; Reba McEntire teams up with Minnesota farmers on corn mazes; mural celebrating Dakota people unveiled in Red Wing; and more  ( 6 min )

All treats, no tricks: Join us in-person as MinnPost reporter Kyle Stokes discusses the upcoming elections with two outgoing city council members.  ( 6 min )

A store manager says the app has lessened the stress of wasting food, while an expert says it could be taking surplus food away from households in need.  ( 10 min )

It may seem ridiculous to propose that taking 5 minutes to contact an elected official is a key component of the battle to keep the Earth from warming, but frankly, it’s the only thing that will actually work.  ( 12 min )

These 11 duck recipes cover preparations from confit and dry-roasting to pan-searing and sous vide.  ( 13 min )

All about the ingredients, the equipment, and the techniques required to make perfect risotto every time.  ( 25 min )

These skillets seared, sautéd, baked, and broiled their way to the top of our favorites list. Right now, they’re 30% off during Prime Big Deal Days.  ( 12 min )

These kitchen towels aced our tests with their absorbent fibers, durable weave, and classic design.  ( 11 min )

After testing 11 stand mixers, we recommended the KitchenAid Artisan as our top pick for casual bakers. Right now, it’s on sale for October Prime Day.  ( 11 min )

For Prime Big Deal Days, this top-notch (but pricey) Breville espresso machine is $300 off.  ( 12 min )

Bet sizing, plea deals, Binance’s rescue fund, tax refunds and Ozempic.  ( 2 min )

I have just uploaded to the arXiv my paper “A Maclaurin type inequality“. This paper concerns a variant of the Maclaurin inequality for the elementary symmetric means of real numbers . This inequality asserts that whenever and are non-negative. It can be proven as a consequence of the Newton inequality valid for all and arbitrary […]  ( 15 min )

Embarking on a machine learning journey often feels like being handed the keys to a high-end sports car. The possibilities seem endless, the power under the hood palpable, and the anticipation of speed, exhilarating. But anyone familiar with cars knows that no matter how advanced or powerful the vehicle might ... Continue reading: From Standstill to Momentum: MLP as Your First Gear in tidymodels

Introduction Continue reading: Steve's Data Tips and Tricks 2023-10-09 22:00:00

Pointing to this recent article in Physical Review Physics Education Research, Michael Weissman flags this passage: In our initial analysis of the historical data, we [the authors of the above-linked article] noticed there are cases where applicants have similar physics … Continue reading →  ( 11 min )

duly.noted MiniOS 📌 “...a lightweight and fast Linux distribution designed for installation on a USB drive.” CSS Box Shadows Generator 📌 “Create, edit, and generate multiple custom CSS box shadows with ease.” mimic.css () 📌 “...css animations library because everyone else is doing it.” linkylove jasmine's journal ⇾ debtdeath blah blah food  ( 1 min )

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy – famously writing music at an age when other children need lullabies to help them to fall asleep.  Despite how prolific he was, however, Mozart did not write an album called “Bedtime Mozart.” That has now created a headache for the authors of a study published in Pediatric … Continue reading Study of music by Mozart includes tunes “not necessarily music composed by Mozart”  ( 8 min )

As fatal opioid overdoses rise, experts recommend that schools, including elementary schools, keep naloxone on hand. While 33 states have laws that expressly allow for the practice, the medicine isn’t as widespread as other lifesaving tools. And schools are still afraid they’ll be stigmatized.  ( 14 min )

About six years ago, a question occurred to me. Is blogging even writing? To use a familiar distinction in its pre-deconstructed form, is blogging more like writing or speaking? After deconstruction, of course, this question doesn’t come up, but on most days I am utterly beholden to the metaphysics of presence and worried about writing, … Continue reading Almost Writing →  ( 6 min )

I’ve finally managed to write up something short about an idea I’ve been working on for the last few months, so now have a preliminary draft version of a paper tentatively entitled Spacetime is Right-handed. One motivation for this is … Continue reading →  ( 8 min )

Language wars, the Korean edition "Foreign words dominate signboards, restaurant menus in Korea", omonatheydidn't, LiveJournal (10/8/23; page loaded 10/9/23); source: The Korea Times Trendy use of foreign languages apparently sparks outrage in Korea as well. A Seoul-based office worker surnamed Kim, 35, was perplexed at being unable to locate the Japanese restaurant he had reserved […]  ( 13 min )

The sound of a cat's purr is a familiar one: Your browser does not support the audio element. But this familiar sound raises at least two interesting biophysical questions. In the first place, cats purr both while breathing out and breathing in, while most people can only produce voiced sounds (= laryngeal oscillations) while breathing […]  ( 13 min )

[This is a guest post by François Lang] Picpoul (AKA Piquepoul, or Picapoll) is a white wine grape best known in the south of France.  The grape is known for its intense acidity, and many wine references claim that its name derives from the Occitan for "lip stinger". But I can't find any justification for […]  ( 12 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

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When, as a writer, should you listen to an audiobook v. read the printed copy? Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Insights from the Medium community Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Malicious forces change the meaning of words in order to slow the spread of ideas Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE OCTOBER 7, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. It’s officially fall, but everyone I know is complaining about the lingering summery temperatures. My fashionable friends want to start wearing their big coats and scarves, while nature-lovers are watching vigilantly for any sign of browning leaves. I’m a summer person, but fall has its charms. I love any kind of seasonal celebration, especially when it involves food. Nearly every culture has a harvest festival, where special dishes and drinks take center stage. Even corporate America has gotten in on the festivities, churning out pumpkin-spice everything. This week, we’re featuring some of the world’s more offbeat fall feasts and harvest treats. Sure, there…  ( 15 min )

This story was originally published on The Conversation and appears here under a Creative Commons license. You wake up in the middle of the night. The room is dark except for the faint glow of the moon through your window. But something’s wrong. A weight presses down on your limbs, digs deep into the flesh of your stomach, and squeezes the air from your lungs. You try to move, but you can’t—all you can do is tentatively open your eyes. A shadow of twisted, gangly limbs writhes above you. A looming head moves closer to your face. And just as your paralyzing terror threatens to burst you open, the monster retreats and you regain control over your limbs. You wake up. It was just a dream. Hopefully. This is what it feels like to suffer from sleep paralysis, which is termed a parasomnia…  ( 18 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit the places that inspired fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien. 50 years after Tolkien’s death, we honor the writer’s life and legacy, taking you back to where The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit all began. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 12 min )

This Atlas Obscura–themed crossword comes from independent crossword constructor Brendan Emmett Quigley. He has been a professional puzzlemaker since 1996, and his pieces have appeared in dozens of publications. He's also a member of the Boston Typewriter Orchestra. You can solve the puzzle below, or download it in .pdf or .puz. Note that the links in the clues will take you to Atlas Obscura pages that contain the answer. Happy solving!  ( 12 min )

Two seamen escape from their service onboard a whaling ship, only to find themselves trapped among savages in the Marquesas Islands.  ( 2 min )

Three essays analyzing the origins, meaning, and value of the concepts of good, evil, and bad; of guilt, punishment, and bad conscience; and of ascetic ideals, including those of truth and truthfulness.  ( 4 min )

1. NYT covers prediction markets, and “the Godfather” (Robin Hanson). 2. AI approaches to corporate risk measurement? 3. My earlier NYT column on the Goldin-Katz book. 4. Israel loosens gun carry laws. 5. Economics of the orchid market. 6. Vox on Claudia Goldin on the gender wage gap. The post Monday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to jayson. My understanding is that any rounds ... by Sure In reply to you read the wildest things here. I did not say ... by Sure In reply to Isaac Shalev. “… soldiers are very difficult ... by EdR In reply to JWatts. “This is inspite of the evidence that ... by Publius In reply to Isaac Shalev. Stop? Yeah, that's very hard. But ... by Phil S. Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Claudia Goldin wins the Nobel! Goldin is an economic historian, she was inspired to go into economics by Alfred Kahn (later the architect of airline deregulation) and became a student of Robert Fogel at the University of Chicago. Goldin pioneered the historical analysis of the labor market and gender. If you want to read a […] The post Claudia Goldin Wins Nobel appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Anti-Gnostic. Socially, the best thing that could ... by JH In reply to theshy. I agree with you that women shouldn't ... by JH In reply to John. The book by Sowell that Jonathan Hait most ... by Orson If you want to understand The Agenda in action, observe how ... by A Harmless Hornytoad In reply to Skip Intro. I don't get why people would be ... by theshy Plus 10 more... Related Stories Legacy Admissions “Why Women Won” Do looks matter for an academic career in economics?  ( 7 min )

That is the title of a new NBER working paper, published today, by…Claudia Goldin.   Here is the abstract: How, when, and why did women in the US obtain legal rights equal to men’s regarding the workplace, marriage, family, Social Security, criminal justice, credit markets, and other parts of the economy and society, decades after they […] The post “Why Women Won” appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to notRover. How do such rules limit anyone's ... by Jonfraz In reply to Sure. Universal white male sufferage began with ... by Jonfraz In reply to Hazel Meade. Women did plenty of work before ... by Jonfraz Feminised men (aka beta males) will always praise and simp on ... by Adi In reply to Jonfraz. Because limiting peoples options are ... by notRover Plus 10 more... Related Stories Union Busted Blast from the past, SBF edition Legacy Admissions  ( 7 min )

We show that physical appearance plays a role in the success of economics PhD graduates and investigate the underlying mechanisms driving this relationship. Leveraging a unique dataset of career and research productivity trajectories of PhD graduates from leading economics departments in the United States, we provide robust evidence that appearance is a predictive factor for […] The post Do looks matter for an academic career in economics? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Hydroquinone. They don't want to pass for white, ... by Some Toronto Guy In reply to Poor form. Objectively he’s ugly and whilst ... by Fat brad In reply to Pipsterate. Ok what I mean is that lookism cuts ... by JSK In reply to The truth is they don’t for Tyler. The ... by Poor form In reply to JSK. Tyler’s a talker not a doer so his ... by The truth is he had no alternative Plus 10 more... Related Stories The “Deaths of Despair” narrative is somewhat wrong Will Detroit go Georgist? Campus censorship and Israel-Palestine  ( 7 min )

Also FTX’s liquidation engine, Elon Musk’s 13G timing and $10 worth of Twitter ads.  ( 2 min )

p.351, Exercise 12.4.C: the hint provided refers to "m-n" and "irreducible varieties," although the exercise is a reduction of the proof of Theorem 12.4.1 (not Corollary 12.4.2). In particular, the hint is the exact same as in older versions of the notes, before Theorem 12.4.1 was added.  ( 14 min )

In a tiny village north of the Arctic Circle in Canada, the Inuvialuit of Tuktoyaktuk have taken climate science into their own hands.

How do people make peace with the image reflected back at them in a video conference?

The CDC is emphasizing how the flu vaccine can turn the virus from “Wild to Mild”

My wife’s family is OK; thanks very much for asking. But yes, missiles are landing and sirens are going off in Tel Aviv, and people there regularly have to use their buildings’ bomb shelters. Of course, the main developments are further south, where at least seven hundred Israelis were murdered or kidnapped and thousands were […]  ( 29 min )

My wife’s family is OK; thanks very much for asking. But yes, missiles are landing and sirens are going off in Tel Aviv, and people there regularly have to use their buildings’ bomb shelters. Of course, the main developments are further south, where at least seven hundred Israelis were murdered or kidnapped and thousands were […]  ( 29 min )

Sam Bankman-Fried, mostly famous for being a high-profile effective altruist and subsequently defrauding lots of investors, had something to say about Shakespeare: To do certain types (not all types) of EA you have to believe that the utility of an outcome is a real number, though it might be hard to measure, and that your […]  ( 8 min )

The cognitive psychologist writes: Collaboration between researchers has become increasingly common, enabling a level of discovery and innovation that is difficult if not impossible to achieve by a single person. But how can one establish and maintain an environment that … Continue reading →  ( 25 min )

It’s the night before I’m leading a discussion about ChatGPT at my English department’s start-of-year retreat. I’d spent the summer thinking tons about the problems it presents for creative writing, a little less so for literature-based courses like my first-year seminar “Superhero Comics.” Since I was planning to ask all of my colleagues to experiment […]  ( 15 min )

In 2022, Guillaume Cabanac noticed something unusual: a study had attracted more than 100 citations in a short span of less than two months of being published.  Cabanac, a computer scientist at the University of Toulouse in France, initially flagged the study on PubPeer after it was highlighted by the Problematic Paper Screener, which automatically … Continue reading How thousands of invisible citations sneak into papers and make for fake metrics  ( 10 min )

RSV research reached a major milestone in 2023, with the arrival of safe, potentially life-saving vaccines. Missing are the stories of children who suffered severe bouts of illness in the early days of RSV vaccine research — including two toddlers whose deaths may have been hastened by an experimental vaccine that worsened their symptoms.  ( 48 min )

Dave Cormier recently advised us to stop assigning essays because it doesn’t teach students what he wants to teach them, namely, how to do research. My immediate response to this was to say that I’m teaching students how to write sentences to put in paragraphs to make arguments to use in essays. To steal a … Continue reading L’art pour l’art →  ( 6 min )

About esgtoolkit version 1.0.0 Continue reading: A diffusion model: G2++

I spend a lot of quality time with testthat, that sometimes deigns to praise my code with emojis, sometimes has to encourage me. No one gets it right on the first time apparently? Continue reading: Two recent enhancements to my testing workflow  ( 8 min )

Combining case_when() and across() iris_df Continue reading: A couple of case_when() tricks  ( 7 min )

If you’re reading this hoping that I’m done with droning on about Continue reading: Hooray, Array!

Overview Continue reading: Locally Sparse Functional Regression

No content preview  ( 1 min )

The traditional group picture at the end of Eric Moulines’ 60th anniversary celebration, at IHP, Paris. Some of the participants had already left (and I am carefully hidding in the background). Among the celebrating talks reflecting the huge thematic diversity of EM’s carreer, Patrick Flandrin gave a great historical account of a certain Édouard-Léon Scott […]  ( 7 min )

The traditional group picture at the end of Eric Moulines’ 60th anniversary celebration, at IHP, Paris. Some of the participants had already left (and I am carefully hidding in the background). Among the celebrating talks reflecting the huge thematic diversity of EM’s carreer, Patrick Flandrin gave a great historical account of a certain Édouard-Léon Scott […]  ( 7 min )

Team Ratings for the RWC Cup Quarter-Finals The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference New Zealand 20.71 16.32 4.40 Ireland 18.78 15.46 3.30 South Africa […] Predictions for the RWC 2023 Cup Quarter-Finals first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 4 min )

Team Ratings for the Semi-Finals The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference Wellington 11.41 8.72 2.70 Canterbury 6.71 9.44 -2.70 Hawke’s Bay 5.44 5.12 0.30 […] Bunnings NPC Predictions for the Semi-Finals first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 4 min )

How grief over my younger brother and fear about my youngest son informed my most recent mystery thriller. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Trick your brain into faster reading with the help of Bionic Reading. With the help of highlighting part of the words, it “guides your eyes over the text and the brain remembers previously learned words more quickly.” (source: br-about) Here…Read more › Continue reading: Little useless-useful R functions – Function for faster reading with Bionic Reading

Hey guys, welcome back to my R-tips newsletter. I’m deviating from the normal R post to talk about a new Python package (available on my Python Newsletter). Sounds weird, but it’s actually aimed at helping R users do time series analysis in Python. It’... Continue reading: Introducing Pytimetk: Time Series Analysis in Python

Join our workshop on Visualising connection in R, which is a part of our workshops for Ukraine series!  Here’s some more info:  Title: Visualising connection in R Date: Thursday, November 9th, 19:00 – 21:00 CEST (Rome, Berlin, Paris timezone) Speaker: Rita Giordano is a freelance data visualisation consultant and scientific illustrator based ... Continue reading: Visualising connection in R workshop  ( 10 min )

Fluidity (github) [tdjones] Use via a browser plugin (Chrome,Firefox) or install locally on your machine. Customize to your liking (edit via the settings icon). 😎  ( 1 min )

As is often the case, I was thinking about George Orwell, and some googling led me to this post from 2005 that had some fun food-related quotes from Bernard Crick’s biography of Orwell, including this: Just before they moved to … Continue reading →  ( 12 min )

Dit is mijn position paper voor het rondetafelgesprek in de Tweede Kamer op 11 oktober over het EU client side scanning voorstel, ook bekend als ‘chatcontrol’, een verplichte module in je WhatsApp/Signal/iMessage/Snapchat die je communicatie en foto’s scant op ‘grooming’ en bekende en onbekende kinderporno & automatisch melding doet bij politie en Europol. Als achtergrond, ik heb de afgelopen 20 jaar veelvuldig bijgedragen aan overleggen tussen overheid en de internetwereld over hoe kinderporno bestreden kan worden.  ( 7 min )

No content preview  ( 44 min )

Another Canadian assistant professor opening in computational statistics, with a call for candidates from the University of Toronto, with deadline 20 November 2023: Candidates must have earned a PhD degree in Statistics or a related area by the time of appointment, or shortly thereafter, with a demonstrated record of excellence in research and teaching. Experience […]  ( 7 min )

Another Canadian assistant professor opening in computational statistics, with a call for candidates from the University of Toronto, with deadline 20 November 2023: Candidates must have earned a PhD degree in Statistics or a related area by the time of appointment, or shortly thereafter, with a demonstrated record of excellence in research and teaching. Experience […]  ( 7 min )

An important early tuning system is Pythagorean tuning, where we force all frequency ratios to involve only powers of 2 and 3. In music, 3/2 is the ‘fifth’: the most consonant of intervals except for the octave. If we start with some frequency and go up and down by powers of 3/2, we create the […]  ( 10 min )

An important early tuning system is Pythagorean tuning, where we force all frequency ratios to involve only powers of 2 and 3. In music, 3/2 is the ‘fifth’: the most consonant of intervals except for the octave. If we start with some frequency and go up and down by powers of 3/2, we create the […]  ( 10 min )

Any advice is only as helpful as the intent of the one applying it Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

Watch out, Chat GPT! Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

Employee earnings have dropped 2% in real terms in the past year and by 8% in the past decade. Here is more from Buttonwood at The Economist. The post Japan fact of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Reason. Yeah. This is not too dissimilar from ... by LivelyClock In reply to ABC. Interesting. Sounds plausible, but it goes ... by mkt42 In reply to Reason. Imagine what this distribution would look ... by ABC My sense is that the Japanese workers I know are giving ... by ABC Is this just due to an aging population and income by age ... by Reason Unfortunately, the article doesn't give enough detail about the ... by Kevin Postlewaite Related Stories Union Busted Twitter channel covering Israel events *The Genius of Israel*  ( 6 min )

1. Model this. 2. A bunch of claims about nobles, genetics, and violence. 3. New results on interpretability.  And much more detail.  Potentially very good news.  One interpretation.  Some are becoming less pessimistic. 4. Arnold Kling on the trouble with books.  Remedies will come! 5. “We show that the high level of rural income mobility […] The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments #2 One big question is whether the nobility were the same ... by Kaleberg In reply to Bill Benzon. FWIW, you can find some discussion ... by Bill Benzon In reply to Lord Action. Closed-loop pumped hydro storage is ... by RAD In reply to Engineer. “I like pumped hydro as well. ... by Lord Action In reply to RAD. From a system design point, I like pumped ... by Engineer Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) just filed for bankruptcy because it lost a case with a port operator in Portland. The back story is amazing. The ILWU is one of the most powerful unions in the United States. Since bloody riots in 1934 it has controlled all 29 seaports on the west coast of the […] The post Union Busted appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Engineer. It's hard to argue that increasing ... by surfie In reply to Dylan. That is the future open borders advocates ... by Anti-Gnostic I would wager that neither AT nor TC have ever been employed in ... by GP In reply to Bill. Right, it looks like the ILWU, knowing that ... by mkt42 Although anti-union sentiment here in MR is often misguided ... by mkt42 Plus 10 more... Related Stories History of Economic Thought syllabus bleg That was then, this is now (median voter edition) Speeding Up Pharmaceutical Approvals by Recognizing Other Stringent Regulators  ( 7 min )

Tweets by sentdefender I thank S. for the pointer. What are some other good sources? The post Twitter channel covering Israel events appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Pedro. … it all started on May 28th, 2016, when ... by Uair01 In reply to What's that about Romans on our minds. Maybe its ... by Dino the Isaurian In reply to mdap. I don't remember the African Americans ... by Zach In reply to déjà vu. Technical correction: Gaza ... by Marian Kechlibar In reply to mkt42. It's not that black and white, but IDF and ... by LivelyClock Plus 10 more... Related Stories *The Genius of Israel* That was then, this is now (median voter edition) The new warfare?  ( 6 min )

Highlights Domestication is often thought to have a negative impact on the cognition of animals. Domesticated animals deemed less cognitively capable than their wild relatives. We reviewed 88 studies comparing cognitive abilities in domesticated and wild animals. No clear impact of domestication on cognition was found. Need to consider some constraints when interpreting domestication-cognition links. […] The post Are domesticated animals dumber than their wild relatives? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Not sure this should be surprising. Domesticated animals are ... by Joe Bush After marriage, most men increase their earnings. Hard to say ... by Michael Stack In reply to Corwin. Are we feeling domesticated? by aaron We have not had a photo of him since he was a puppy. by And Spinoza? Since humans are animals has our species also become dumber ... by Mishkilji Plus 10 more... Related Stories *The Genius of Israel* That was then, this is now (median voter edition) My Conversation with Ada Palmer  ( 6 min )

Prosocial CEOs increase employee motivation but are often slower to implement layoffs. We present a model of CEO-firm matching wherein negative industry shocks that require downsizing asymmetrically reduce the match quality for prosocial CEOs and drive turnover. We find that prosocial CEOs are more likely to be dismissed and replaced with less prosocial successors during […] The post Do Nice Guys Finish Last? Prosociality in the CEO Labor Market appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to JSK. How about $3k/month, inflation-indexed? by rsm In reply to Bazza. Why not just remove the stigma? by rsm In reply to Matt. I didn't study economics for any degree and ... by Anonymous The problem with nice guys is they think fights should be fair. by Yancey Ward In reply to Matt. I suspect the incentives are all wrong for ... by Worley Plus 10 more...  ( 7 min )

A couple of months ago, some people were saying that Donald Trump's favorability ratings rose every time he was indicted (I've forgotten specific references, but I know I saw some).  The idea seemed to be that some supporters had been drifting away until their sympathies were reawakened by what they regarded as persecution by the "deep state".   Closer examination has shown that this isn't true, that his favorability ratings actually declined slightly after the indictments.  But at the time, it occurred to me that  the degree of favorability might be more subject to change--shifting from "strongly favorable" to "somewhat favorable" is easier than shifting from favorable to unfavorable--and that the degree of favorability will matter in the race for the nomination.  On searching, I found th…  ( 9 min )

Eric Potash writes: I knew that deep learning was doing amazing things with audio, images, video, language, etc. But when it comes to physics, I sort of assumed that stochastic and process-based models were holding their own. Apparently not so … Continue reading →  ( 20 min )

"The Nobel literature prize goes to Norway’s Jon Fosse, who once wrote a novel in a single sentence" By DAVID KEYTON, MIKE CORDER and JILL LAWLESS, AP (10/5/23) … While Fosse is the fourth Norwegian writer to get the Nobel literature prize, he is the first in nearly a century and the first who writes in […]  ( 14 min )

A recent paper by Mark Coeckelbergh and David Gunkel in AI & Society has got me thinking. Since I know that David will now immediately think his work is done — getting us thinking is his goal — let me stress from the outset that it has mainly got me thinking that they’re wrong. Since … Continue reading ChatGPT Can’t Write →  ( 12 min )

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to well over 350. There are more than 43,000 retractions in The Retraction Watch Database — which is now part of Crossref. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains well over … Continue reading Weekend reads: The strain on publishing; Gino defends herself; the rise of fake peer review retractions  ( 8 min )

A quick intro to checking and testing your functions, with help from {checkmate} and {tinytest} Continue reading: checks and {tiny}testing – a quick primer

In a Here I w... Continue reading: Enneper surface with square checkerboard  ( 12 min )

A new assistant professor position in Statistics/Machine learning is opening at UdeM, the University of Montréal, with deadline 11 November 2023: The Department of Mathematics and Statistics invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track position of Assistant Professor in Statistics and Machine Learning. The successful candidate, depending on his or her expertise and interest, could be […]  ( 7 min )

A new effort to get Philip Vance released is backed by a Facebook group of supporters, a college criminal justice class, and Jason Sole, an abolitionist and Hamline University criminal justice professor who founded the Humanize My Hoodie movement.  ( 17 min )

Serving others on a holiday is the right thing to do.  ( 8 min )

Plus: Muslim parents protest LGBTQ-friendly picture books at DaVinci Academy; salt water slowly moving up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico; Lucasfilm and Filson file motion to dismiss case brought by Frost River; and more.  ( 6 min )

There’s something timeless and grounded about carillon bells, and their appeal grows as our lives become more digitized, and earbuds proliferate. Bells still bring people together, perhaps thanks to their visceral mechanics.  ( 17 min )

Plus: Stormy weather for ever-optimistic Rep. Dean Phillips; a challenger to Rep. Michelle Fischbach's right.  ( 15 min )

The council on Thursday sent the grant back to committee after nearly half of the council expressed concerns about its lack of scope and potential for reigniting fears of surveillance.  ( 16 min )

Experts in insect science spoke in St. Peter this week about how eating insects could help solve climate change and the global food crisis.  ( 12 min )

Correa gives the Twins something they haven’t had in a long time: someone who anticipates and sees things other players and managers don’t.  ( 12 min )

The most formidable hurdle is that the issue will end up, sooner or later, before the U.S. Supreme Court, a Trump-packed tribunal that is unlikely to ban him from the ballot.  ( 20 min )

As MinnPost’s local government reporter, it’s my job — and my mission — to ensure you’re ready to vote this November 7.  ( 7 min )

LinearMouse (github) [zero1infinity] Note: This is not an endorsement.  ( 1 min )

PuzzleScript [arnicas]  ( 1 min )

I also made my own art for the paperback. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 9 min )

It’s a feat that takes time, practice, and love Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

The light is fading and your eyes instinctively squint. You stop, and a bone-chilling shiver crawls up your spine. Are you roaming through an old graveyard? Exploring an abandoned tunnel? Getting hopelessly lost in a forest veiled in fog? Perhaps you are wondering how the hell to get out of there. Or … perhaps, though your heart is pounding and your hands are clammy, you plunge deeper into the darkness. We here at Atlas Obscura approach the eerie, the haunted, the unknown the same way we approach everything—with wonder and curiosity. So it’s no surprise that October is our favorite time of the year! To celebrate, we’re daring our readers to show us their favorite places that exude that creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky energy we all love. So for our next photo contest—Spooky Snaps—we want…  ( 29 min )

Starting in the late 19th century, and following a trend kicked off in Paris, Lisbon went kiosk crazy. At its peak, the city was home to nearly 70 kiosks, many of which served simple drinks—largely sweet herbal liqueurs and beer. Several of these Art Nouveau-era kiosks remain in Lisbon today, but all but one are owned by the city, who has generally leased them to larger brands that serve a bland repertoire of international drinks and snacks. But Quiosque de São Paulo, Lisbon’s only privately-owned kiosk, has gone in a different direction.  When chef/restaurateur André Magalhães took over the kiosk in 2020, he deliberately chose menu items that reflected the options available during the heyday of kiosks, from the late 19th century until around the 1960s. As such, the drink menu at Quiosque de São Paulo includes items such as vinho quinado, port wine supplemented with quinine, and amarguinha, bitter almond liqueur.  Snacks include punheta de bacalhau, an old-school Lisbon dish that combines raw salt cod, onions and olive oil, ovos verdes, literally “green eggs,” something like a deep-fried deviled egg, and pastéis de massa tenra, Portuguese hand pies—items you’ll struggle to find elsewhere in town.  ( 13 min )

Go road-tripping across America with four-time poetry Pulitzer prize winner Robert Frost, and this is what happens: At every fork in the road, he chooses the road less traveled. And so you end up on each state’s loneliest road. Actually, that’s not how this map came about. It owes more to bureaucratic bean-counting than to poetic obstinacy. Telematics specialists at Geotab gathered 2015 data from the U.S. federal government’s Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) to find, for each state, the route with the lowest annual average daily traffic (AADT). HPMS data covers interstates, U.S. routes, and state routes over 10 miles long. That excludes Washington, DC, by the way. (The nation’s capital apparently doesn’t feature any major road of at least that length.) Here are the top 5:…  ( 20 min )

The people of Portugal love a sandwich, and one of the country’s most beloved is the bifana. Taking the form of slices of pork served in a roll, in Lisbon that protein is typically grilled, but somewhat confusingly, the city’s most popular bifana is done in the northern style. You don’t need Google Maps to know if you’ve arrived at As Bifanas do Afonso; look for the perpetual line or simply follow the aroma of porky broth that extends down the block. Your destination is essentially a stall, which specializes in one dish: thin slices of pork, braised in a mix of white wine, garlic, bay leaf, and lard (and, it’s said, Sprite), stuffed in a chewy Portuguese-style roll. Boost your bifana via a squirt of sweet, cheap mustard or a drizzle of house-made chili oil, and pair it with a glass of vinho à pressão, “tap wine,” made sweet with the addition of sugar and bubbly via carbonation. It’s simple, cheap, casual and utterly delicious.  ( 14 min )

Overlooking the River Teifi in this small Welsh village is a wooden statue of a mermaid commemorating a fisherman's generosity. The fisherman's name was Peregrine, and, in late September 1789, he had the good fortune of landing a mermaid in his nets. Overjoyed with his catch, he tied the mermaid up to his boat and set sail for St. Dogmaels, where he planned to come ashore. On the journey home, the beautiful mermaid begged and pleaded with him to let her go. However, on approaching the village, it seems that Peregrine had a change of heart. Bringing a mermaid to shore would certainly make him rich, but what fate would await her? He started to untie the knots he had used to fasten her to the boat and let her go. Recognizing this kindness, the mermaid gratefully thanked him and promised to repay him in the future. Ten days after his unusual catch, Peregrine and his boat were again heading out to sea to catch herring. As he sailed past the sandbar in the river, the mermaid appeared at the side of his boat. She called out a warning that a storm was coming, and he should head home. He turned his ship around and went back to the village, although all of the other fishermen laughed at his sudden change of heart. However, their laughter soon turned to tears, as all of the little boats were lost in a terrible storm. The mermaid statue commemorates this tale. It is a pleasant place to stop for a picnic, and also marks the start (or end) of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, and long distance footpath running for 186 miles around the coast of Pembrokeshire, one of Britiain's National Parks.  There is a small sculpture decorated with costal wildlife often seen from the shore, but alas, there are no mermaids.  ( 13 min )

From internal battles to foreign incursions, Scotland has seen its fair share of conflicts and disputes. It is perhaps their strained relationship with their neighbors to the south, the English, that has seen the most bloodshed. There is perhaps no better example to showcase man's barbarity than a period known as the Killing Times. This was a religious war that lasted for roughly 10 years towards the end of the 17th century. An estimated 18,000 Scottish citizens lost their lives for upholding their belief that the ruling monarch was not in a higher position of authority than God. Of the many examples of martyrs who gave up their lives for the cause of covenanting (the belief that God was the supreme power), perhaps it could be best epitomized by three individuals: Laur Hay, Andrew Pitu…  ( 14 min )

Per capita, the people of Portugal consume just about as many snails as the French. And Lisbon’s one-stop-shop for all its snail needs is Casa dos Caracóis, literally “House of Snails.”  The brand has 11 shops across Portugal, with seven in the greater Lisbon area alone. The capital’s Campolide branch is typical of the brand: spotless and brightly lit, decked out in stainless steel and snail paraphernalia, including prehistoric snail fossils. The shop stocks everything a Portuguese snail consumer could possibly need: snails, of course, but also the requisite snail peripherals, which include bread (for toasting), oregano and garlic (for boiling snails) and beer and sangria (for drinking with snails).  At least four varieties of snails can be bought live, to be taken home and boiled or grilled. Smaller snails are typically boiled in broth with that oregano and garlic, while larger snails are grilled. Alternatively, each shop has the facilities to boil hundreds of kilos of snails for take-away, in sizes ranging from small containers to massive €40 buckets. The vast majority of snails sold at Casa dos Caracóis are raised on farms in Morocco.  ( 14 min )

If you drive south of San Antonio, Texas on Applewhite Road, past the fire station and the Toyota plant, and pull over just shy of the Medina River, you can walk a few hundred feet through tranquil forest and patchy sunlight to where a small bridge crosses a burbling stream just out of sight of the highway. There, on certain evenings, when the last rays of light cut through deepening shadows, and the sound of the wind has faded from the tree tops, you may have an experience you cannot easily explain. A rustle in the undergrowth, a flicker in your vision, the distinct clopping of hooves. You may not see her, but, as many visitors report, the Donkey Lady was nearby. This quirkily-named phantom has for decades been said to haunt the San Antonio bridge. Visitors report the sound of hoofbea…  ( 23 min )

In the mountains of Romania near its southern border with Serbia is the small spa town of Băile Herculane. Dating back over 2,000 years to the Roman times, Băile Herculane is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe. People have been visiting the area to experience the healing power of its thermal waters for centuries.  According to legend, the hero Hercules as well as members of the Roman aristocracy, bathed in the curing waters of the springs surrounding Băile Herculane. The town embraces this history, paying nod to the legend through a variety of Hercules references and a large statue of the god in its northern square.   Băile Herculane’s most iconic sight is the now-defunct Băile Imperiale Austriece Neptun, or Imperial Austrian Neptune Baths. Built in the 1880s, in its heyday Neptune was considered one of the most modern baths in Europe and was utilized by elite Austrian royalty. The once-opulent, baroque building now stands in disrepair, a striking sight of peeling paint and rust set against a mountain backdrop. There are several other (slightly less impressive) abandoned baths scattered around the town, as well. There are a variety of abandoned Soviet-era hotels in the southern part of the Băile Herculane, architecturally interesting in their own right and serving as a reminder of the town’s varied history. Like the baths, these hotels were one thriving, nearly a decade later during the town’s revival as a popular vacation spot during the Soviet period. The contrast between buildings couldn’t be more stark, making Băile Herculane an interesting place both visually and historically.  If you want to experience the power of the healing waters yourself, you’re in luck. There are several thermal spas operating in Băile Herculane today, and a variety of modern-day accommodations and establishments for tourists to enjoy.  ( 14 min )

In September 1961, the Charlotte News ran a column by food editor Marie Adams about preparing dishes that looked “as appetizing as possible—without benefit of cooking or heating.” But Adams wasn’t writing for people on a camping trip or weathering a long power outage at home. These recipes were intended for the “fallout shelter housewife.” In her column, Adams provided a full heatless menu made with canned or jarred ingredients, like vichyssoise topped with dehydrated chives, and a spread for Saltines made with deviled ham, dried parsley, and canned mushrooms. She also suggests that her fellow homemakers prepare by testing out shelter-friendly menus in their home kitchens. After all, Adams says, “a few tricks up the sleeve are not amiss, even though we hope the chances are we shall never…  ( 25 min )

As the birch and spruce forests of Newfoundland’s southern coast begin to speckle and sparkle with bright yellow, a familiar and frightening figure returns to the autumn woods of the Miawpukek First Nation community in Conne River. For those on a local walking trail, it emerges from the forest like a specter: a human-like figure who appears to be bound, their torso and limbs contorted into the trunk of a large birch tree—a variety that locals call “witch hazel.” Bark and wood take the place of skin and flesh. The figure bends unnaturally to its left, almost as if the tree is twisting in human-like agony, or had pulled a hiker off the trail and condemned them to be part of the forest itself. While the shape is plenty creepy all on its own—at least for those who actually notice it—in 202…  ( 21 min )

German-Americans have a long-established presence in St. Louis, Missouri, so after the deaths of local newspaper industry heavyweights Dr. Emil Preetorius, Carl Schurz, and Carl Daenzer, the community sought a way to commemorate them. The Preetorious-Schurz-Daenzer Memorial Association was formed, and launched a design competition. Adolphus Busch, of the Anheuser-Busch brewing company, served as the honorary president as well as the main donor. Proposals rolled in, and a 26-member jury reviewed the submissions and selected a design proposed by Wilhelm Wandschneider, a sculptor from Berlin. While Wandschneider was the only non-local artist to enter the competition, he was known to the community, having recently won a gold medal for sculpture in the German Exhibition at the 1904 St Louis W…  ( 15 min )

In Lavapies, maybe the purest and typical Madrilenian-style neighborhood, there's an inconspicuous 17th-century house built then on the outskirts of the city. The rooms are distributed around a traditional Castilian patio and the building is held up by wood beams. Currently, the space is used as a senior center, but under the courtyard, there is a cellar. Only a few people know how was the initial use of this basement. The initial purpose of this prison was to accommodate clergy members who had committed civil crimes.  Later, the dungeons also were used by the Spanish Inquisition. The structure of the cellar is made of brick and flint and the basement can be reached by a narrow staircase.  A vaulted gallery gives access to five dungeons which are, in turn, connected to each other by smal…  ( 14 min )

Six years ago, when the moon blocked out the sun over a vast swath of the United States, Atlas Obscura had a slight case of Eclipse Madness. So we're all set to help guide you through the annular eclipse, also known as a "Ring of Fire" eclipse, that will cut a swath across the Western United States and Central and South America, on October 14, 2023. How do animals react to an eclipse’s mysterious daytime darkness? Why does Uganda have two monuments to the phenomenon? And who makes all those eclipse glasses, anyway? And this is just a sweetener before another big show: the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse that will travel across the Midwest and Eastern United States. Stay tuned, we may go a little crazy then, too. What We Know About How Animals React to an Eclipse by Jessica Leigh Hes…  ( 17 min )

Sure, people say there are a thousand islands along the St. Lawrence Seaway, but is there any way to really be sure? Rising above the St. Lawrence River, this Hill Island, Ontario, observation tower has answered this question for many tourists to the Thousand Islands region of Canada for more than half a century. The completion of Seattle’s Space Needle for the 1962 World’s Fair led to a boom in observation tower construction across American and Canadian cities throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In the Thousand Islands region of Canada, long a resort and summer vacation destination, a Czech entrepreneur named John David was inspired to create a tourist attraction of his own. The concrete structure took over a year to complete and was opened to the public on June 15, 1965. At the time of its opening, it had the smallest width-to-height ratio of any building in the world. The tower stands more than 400 feet tall (130 meters), and offers stellar views of hundreds of islands and two countries, with a distinctive spiral staircase pattern that wraps around it (which is not used by the public). The tower contains three observation decks, and it takes about 40 seconds by elevator to reach the top. After David, Hill Island local, Leonard Stratford, owned the tower for nearly 30 years. When it came time for him to retire in 2011, he sold the tower to Konrad and Heidi Linckh, who had immigrated to Canada from Düsseldorf, Germany, after falling in love with the area on their honeymoon. Although their bid for the tower was under the asking price even after sinking their life savings into the project, their ambition and desire to keep the tower open as a public tourist attraction convinced Leonard that they were the best people to be entrusted with the operation. Even now, visitors to the tower will be greeted by a tour guide to point out highlights of the area and to welcome them to the Thousand Islands.  ( 14 min )

The Philippines, India and China have seen the greatest total number of children displaced by disasters—some 23 million—in recent years

Draft CDC guidelines recommend doxycycline for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections in some populations

What is a permafrost thaw slump? Just imagine a massive hole with an area the size of more than nine football fields—and growing—where ice-cold ground once stood.

The exercise of writing down unfiltered thoughts enhances self-knowledge

Hawaii’s brightly colored honeycreepers are at imminent risk of extinction, and bacteria could be the key to saving them

Of the thousands of stars visible to the eye, only a few hundred are known to have planets. But that number may be far higher in reality

1. Dan Rothschild reviews Alexandra Hudson’s The Soul of Civility. 2. Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness, by Carrie Sheffield, forthcoming 2024. 3. Nabeel on Jon Fosse.  And Merve Emre on Fosse. 4. Woman named Siri changes her name. 5. There is no great stagnation who would spend millions on this? 6. LLMs […] The post Friday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Reason. Many “idle” rich were working day in ... by Lord Action #4 article reads like it was written by ChatGPT. It is so ... by Andrew In reply to Lord Action. Advances have been more rapid with ... by Reason In reply to JWatts. Because it's a robot. And with robots, ... by Bill In reply to joan. So, John Kerry buying a private jet is bad ... by JWatts Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

I am teaching graduate-level history of economic thought next spring, for the first time.  What do you all recommend I put on the syllabus?  I thank you all in advance for you sage counsel and wisdom. The post History of Economic Thought syllabus bleg appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments I took a similar course taught by Michael Thomas (maybe you ... by Blake V Don't skip Francis Galton! Under-rated. ... by Steven Belknap In reply to Econreader. Sheesh, no decent course in the ... by Robert P Insist as much as possible in economics as the reductionist ... by Arturo Macias Agree with the commentor who said to make sure to delve into ... by Jonathan Wight Plus 10 more... Related Stories My Conversation with Ada Palmer Where have all the young founders gone? On U.S. life expectancy disparities  ( 6 min )

Only 1% of The #Forbes400 is under 40, the lowest percentage in at least two decades. Link here, via Sean Patrick Hughes. The post Where have all the young founders gone? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to xiugad. You would have to be grading very ... by mira In reply to Anonymous. Would love if people put names to ... by mira In reply to Moral Panic. I agree with this point. Harder to ... by clear-eyed, blue collar guy In reply to Oldcurmudgeon. “have zero influence in ed ... by mkt42 In reply to Dr Richard. I referred to the 2000 to 2016 ... by y81 Plus 10 more... Related Stories On U.S. life expectancy disparities Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue My Conversation with Ada Palmer  ( 6 min )

That is the new book by Dan Senor and Saul Singer.  The authors argue that Israel has higher solidarity and also higher social capital than recent media reports might indicate.  They are thus optimistic about the country, and the subtitle is The Surprising Resilience of a Divided Natoin in a Turbulent World. I do not […] The post *The Genius of Israel* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to sxb. Without looking it up, I had an Israeli tell ... by bazza In reply to M. This sounds like a reasonable explanation for ... by bazza In reply to Mishkilji. There's a not-so-thinly-veiled ... by Gene T In reply to Zach. Israel continues to exist because its ... by bazza In reply to Etalon d'Silomar. D Liddle stated. “Every. ... by Mishkilji Plus 10 more... Related Stories That was then, this is now (median voter edition) My Conversation with Ada Palmer Will misinformation be an electoral problem?  ( 6 min )

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said this week that the Biden administration planned to waive 26 environmental, public health and cultural preservation laws in order to fast-track constructing sections of the border wall in South Texas. …The administration would use funds from a 2019 appropriation designated by Congress to construct the wall, which was spurred […] The post That was then, this is now (median voter edition) appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Lee A. Arnold. Gaetz introduces the motion, the ... by Sure In reply to steve. Utter nonsense. Speaker of the House is ... by Sure In reply to Anon. Mexico is fixable? We’ve tried the ... by California In reply to Reason. Nobody supports Trump’s wall through ... by Cancelled for wongthink In reply to steve. Currently around 65% of Americans favor ... by Lee A. Arnold Plus 10 more... Related Stories *The Genius of Israel* Speeding Up Pharmaceutical Approvals by Recognizing Other Stringent Regulators My Conversation with Ada Palmer  ( 6 min )

The 2023 Physics Nobel Prize was announced this week, awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier for figuring out how to generate extremely fast (hundreds of attoseconds) pulses of light. Some physicists try to figure out the laws of physics themselves, or the behavior of big photogenic physical systems like stars and galaxies. […]  ( 11 min )

This R-Guru cheat sheet is ideal for Statistical Programmers since it contains best practice examples for creating and updating tibbles in the pharma industry. Examples show common R tasks for importing data, creating data frames, direct variable referencing, piping, conditional and group processing, sql components, character and date operations, variable ... Continue reading: R-Guru.com Cheat Sheet for Statistical Programmers

Of course, Steve! I’d be delighted to help you write an engaging blog post about drawing a legend outside of a plot in base R. It’s a handy skill for R programmers, and I’m sure your readers will appreciate the guidance. Introduction Continue reading: Title: Mastering Legends in R: Drawing Them Outside the Plot

In November I’ll give a talk about multilingualism in R at the Spanish R conference in Barcelona (😍). I can’t wait! Until then, I need to prepare my talk. 😅 I plan to present the rOpenSci “multilingual publishing” project but also other related tools, like potools. In this post, I’... Continue reading: How to translate your package’s messages with {potools}  ( 15 min )

Our favorite food gifts include hazelnut chocolate, vanilla syrup, tinned fish, and more.  ( 31 min )

Including a small, colorful thermometer, some good tea (and a great tea steeper), and a mighty mini whisk.  ( 51 min )

Here’s an inspiring presentation by Lisa DeBruine, featuring the “faux” package for data simulation for design of studies. I really really really like simulated-data experimentation, and I can’t stop talking about it. (More here.)  ( 15 min )

As I explained here in February of this year: One time on an expedition around the western part of the Taklamakan Desert in the center of Asia more than a decade ago, the Chinese driver played Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" scores of times.  He had other discs, but he only played that song, and he […]  ( 9 min )

Last week, an environmental journal published a paper on the use of renewable energy in cleaning up contaminated land. To read it, you would have to pay 40 euros. But you still wouldn’t know for sure who wrote it. Ostensibly authored by researchers in China, “Revitalizing our earth: unleashing the power of green energy in … Continue reading Signs of undeclared ChatGPT use in papers mounting  ( 10 min )

In “Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution,” poet and scientist Cat Bohannon makes a passionate and deeply researched feminist case for women as the central drivers of civilization.  ( 14 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

A brand new monthly series of Parisian seminars on the theory and practice of Monte Carlo in statistics and data science, in conjunction with our ERC OCEAN project. To kick start the series the organisers, Joshua Bon and Andrea Bertazzi, first postdocs in the project, will present some of their work on Friday 13 October, […]  ( 7 min )

A brand new monthly series of Parisian seminars on the theory and practice of Monte Carlo in statistics and data science, in conjunction with our ERC OCEAN project. To kick start the series the organisers, Joshua Bon and Andrea Bertazzi, first postdocs in the project, will present some of their work on Friday 13 October, […]  ( 7 min )

“I am the best feng shui master in Taiwan,” Jiang Bole says while sitting in his office in Taipei. Flanked by two assistants, an entire room packed with deities decked out in gold and bronze flourishes, and a Taoist mantra playing in a loop in the background, he certainly looks the part. Jiang is a feng shui consultant for the rich and famous, and he’s well-aware of his high stature. “I am the most famous person in Taiwan who can deal with ghosts,” he says. With over 63,000 followers on Facebook, Jiang often posts videos and photos of him visiting gravesites and exhuming corpses. As a feng shui practitioner, he is hired by clients to help them optimize their physical environments for luck and prosperity. Most of his time, he’s called over to people’s places of residences to see if the …  ( 20 min )

With its many walking trails, sounds of the Atlantic along the shores, planes flying overhead, and a distinct view of the Boston skyline, Deer Island is one of the most popular recreational areas around Boston Harbor. Today the island is home to the second-largest sewage treatment plant in the United States and is also joined by some of the other surrounding islands to form the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. However, Deer Island wasn't always a picturesque and serene location. Much of its history has been filled with tragedy, sorrow, death, and despair. One such tragic chapter occurred during the mid-19th century.  In 1845, the Great Famine or "An Gorta Mór" struck Ireland. A period of massive starvation and disease that within a decade left around a million dead and ove…  ( 14 min )

Often, visitors to Havana, Cuba, can feel as though they are unstuck in time, what with the pervasive classic muscle cars and faded mid-century modern tourist attractions. Some tourists revel in this dissonance and take to the Mad Men lifestyle, while others may consider the many injuries, both self-inflicted and those caused by others, that have led Cuba to be forever stuck in the late 1950s. Perhaps nowhere is that tourist dissonance felt more strongly than at El Polinesio, a fully preserved tiki bar located in the Habana Libre hotel. Before the hotel was known as the Habana Libre, it was the Havana Hilton, the pride and joy of president-turned-strongman Fulgencio Batista. The hotel opened in 1958 as a state-of-the-art resort and casino. When it opened, celebrities and socialites were …  ( 14 min )

California was the first state to be carved out of the far western territories, and the question of its eastern boundary was a bit contentious—not least because so little was known about the geography east of the Sierra Nevada. A convention in 1849 finally decided on arbitrary geographic lines on the map. In the north, the eastern boundary would run along the 120th meridian of longitude from the 42nd parallel of latitude (the southern boundary of the Oregon territory) south  to the 39th parallel. Then it would run southeasterly from this point of intersection down to where the 35th parallel intersects the Colorado River. It's one thing, though, to draw lines on a map, but quite another to actually establish them on the ground. For example, no one realized at the time that the intersectio…  ( 15 min )

This monument was erected in memory of all those who lost their lives on the MS Estonia ferry when it sank in 1994. The sinking of the Estonia is one of the deadliest peacetime sinkings of a European ship, with casualties second only to the Titanic in 1912 and the Empress of Ireland in 1914.  The Estonia sank into the Baltic Sea on the morning of September 28, 1994. The ship had left Tallinn slightly behind schedule and was due to arrive in Stockholm at 9 a.m. But in the wee hours of the morning, around 1 a.m. the ship began to struggle. Conditions were not ideal for the crossing. The cargo hold was fully loaded, but the weight was likely distributed unevenly—the ship was observed to be listing slightly to starboard. The weather during the crossing was rough, with winds of 34 to 45 miles per hour, which helped create waves of four to six meters tall. The first sign the ship was in trouble was when a loud bang was heard. It is now thought that this was caused by a heavy wave hitting the bow doors.  About 15 minutes later, the visor is believed to have separated from the hull of the ship and torn open the loading ramp allowing water to rapidly enter the boat. In an attempt to try and get to safety, the ship was turned to port and slowed before her four engines cut out completely. Then the ship went down. The Estonia was carrying 989 people (803 passengers and 186 crew). Just 137 of them were rescued. Of the 852 who died in the accident, 757 of them were never found. Designed and completed by Riho Luuse and Jaan Saar the monument is called the Broken Line. It was unveiled two years to the day after the tragedy occurred. The missing middle part of the memorial was designed to represent the sudden end of the victims' lives.  ( 13 min )

Frank Buhl, a steel magnate and philanthropist, saw his dream of the nation's only free golf course realized in 1914. The nine-hole course belongs to the Buhl Farm Trust, alongside the adjacent park which is privately owned but free to the public, unusual for most American parks which are publicly owned. Buhl was the owner of Sharon Steel, a job that made him millions of dollars. He donated much of that fortune to the local community. According to PGA of America, Buhl bought 300 acres of land in 1911 that would become Buhl Farm Park, which includes an 11-acre lake, swimming pool, tennis courts, bocce courts, trails, and of course, a golf course. The course opened in 1914. It has nine holes spread out over 30 acres, with no sand traps or water hazards. While it may not have the frills of a fancier golf course—there's no clubhouse, pro shop, or snack bar—cart rentals are cheap and walking is free. Simply check in at the front desk and enjoy nine holes free. There's also an on-site driving range.  ( 13 min )

The Little Truckee River originates as the outflow from Webber Lake, a natural lake, in the Sierra Nevada north of Donner Summit. It is a substantial stream by the area's standards and even has a couple of reservoirs in its lower reaches. In particular, it is the largest tributary to the main stem of the Truckee River. The Truckee in turn flows east into Nevada and is the primary water source for Reno and much of western Nevada. The Truckee itself ends at Pyramid Lake. It's less than a mile below its start at the outflow from Webber Lake, and the Little Truckee drops into a narrow canyon over Webber Falls. The falls are about 100 feet high but consist of several steps, of which the lowermost and most significant is about 50 feet tall. They can be spectacular, especially during the spring runoff.  ( 14 min )

Creating monsters, rigging disembodied eyeballs and crafting other horror film delights is the only job that effects artist Mark Villalobos has ever had. Before he was 18, he was already learning the trade on sets like A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and Beastmaster 2. “But I also love working on indie films,” he says. “You get very creative when there’s not a lot of money. Plus all the weirdos end up on low-budget stuff, and they’re the most entertaining part of the business.” In 2005 he teamed up with fellow effects artist Heather Mages to form Villalobos/Mages Studios. Since then, they’ve worked on hundreds of projects, with horror and sci-fi icons like Crispin Glover and Walter Koenig, creating everything from animatronic alien babies to Val Kilmer’s severed hand. Atlas Obscura spoke…  ( 20 min )

Amidst the cornfields and prairies of northeast Kansas, a limestone-clad schoolhouse sits on a dirt road across from an old farmhouse. In the morning, its bell rings loud and clear across the fields, reminding students to show up to class on time or else earn the sharp rebuke of their teacher. Granted, "students" to this historic school usually show up today wearing jeans and t-shirts, pulling up in 21st-century cars rather than wooden carts or on horseback, and tapping away on smartphones instead of slates. But stepping through the doorway of Lanesfield School takes them back 100 years to a school day circa 1904.  The original Lanesfield Schoolhouse was built in 1869, replacing the original log schoolhouse. The school and the town of Lanesfield sat along the Santa Fe Trail, which brou…  ( 15 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit Bonaventure Cemetery in Georgia, and the grave of one Charles F. Mills, to learn about a peculiar belief that was once widespread: the hope to be saved by a bell. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 13 min )

Over 30 years of writing has taught me this… Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Joe Abercrombie does magic with his horrible characters, twisted storyline, and soft conclusion  ( 12 min )

We tested 13 whiskey glasses—evaluating how easy they were to drink from and clean and how well they did with single pours and mixed drinks.  ( 25 min )

Plus: Anoka-Hennepin one of 11 schools targeted by “Libs of TikTok” to receive a bomb threat; Trollhaugen unveils a snow stash from last winter; first Somali-American to become an on-air reporter in the Twin Cities market; U.S. Customs seize giraffe feces at MSP; and more.  ( 7 min )

In a landmark trial in Montana, a judge ruled this summer that the state had violated the young plaintiffs’ “right to a clean and healthful environment” — a fundamental right enshrined in the Montana Constitution.  ( 11 min )

The fossil fuel defined economies and local traditions. What happens when it goes away?  ( 44 min )

The app, called Irth, has been implemented in other states including California, Pennsylvania and Michigan, and currently has around 15,000 users with reviews from 46 states.  ( 17 min )

Plus: The Elaine Dame Trio at Crooners; a concert of staged opera scenes and arias; and an Indigenous festival with music, food and food for thought at the Stone Arch Bridge.  ( 13 min )

Plus: Teen sentenced in fatal shooting of Michael Brasel; Trump warns GOP off U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer as House Majority leader; St. Cloud Live to begin printing weekly newspaper; and more.  ( 6 min )

From the excellent Dylan Matthews: Case and Deaton are highlighting a real problem, confirmed by other researchers: Americans with different levels of education die at different rates, and the least-educated Americans have seen their death rates surge in a way that more-educated Americans have not. But the relevant divide does not seem to be between […] The post On U.S. life expectancy disparities appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Have you ever driven in a foreign country? by Patrick Probability this is a eugenic and/or budget-improving ... by DeservingPorcupine In reply to clear-eyed, blue collar guy. I think greedy, ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to blue jay. Good question, and maybe the disparity ... by Torn In reply to clear-eyed, blue collar guy. The convenience ... by Brent Plus 10 more... Related Stories Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue States with high (low) rates of reporter mental illness Speeding Up Pharmaceutical Approvals by Recognizing Other Stringent Regulators  ( 7 min )

1. On Data Colada and related matters. 2. Fluorescent mammals are far more common than earlier thought. 3. Ilya Somin on misinformation. 4. Lee Cronin on how natural selection is rooted in physics.  And a tweet thread for the paper. 5. Indian thirty-year pickled lemon apparently liquidity premium exceeds carrying cost.  Or does it? 6. […] The post Thursday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Ron DeSantis Say. 'Bout Rob DeSantis? by You Talkin In reply to EdR. So much for subtlety by Dad In reply to M. Looks like someone offended a retard with a ... by lol In reply to Naveen K. are assimilated and don't want to ... by typo: are assimilated* In reply to Anon. Luttwak does imply that Qing etc China were ... by Pat Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

New Zealand’s ACT party has proposed that New Zealand speed up pharmaceutical approvals by recognizing the decisions of other stringent regulators, an idea I have long promoted . The average time for Medsafe to consent an application for a high risk medicine is 630 days. For intermediate risk, it is 661 days and for lower […] The post Speeding Up Pharmaceutical Approvals by Recognizing Other Stringent Regulators appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to MikeP. > the risks of vaccine unknown unknowns ... by n In reply to Tom T.. You're not wrong. by Iain In reply to Lord Action. NZ has a separate body Pharmac which ... by jimmy In reply to steve. I could ask the reverse: how thrilled are ... by Simon Elliott In reply to Not a nut. > All agencies assess that two ... by Not a nut Plus 10 more... Related Stories The need for hospital price transparency The PayPal StableCoin Ayn Rand on the Antitrust Laws  ( 7 min )

Here is the audio, video, and transcript.  Here is the episode summary: Ada Palmer is a Renaissance historian at the University of Chicago who studies radical free thought and censorship, composes music, consults on anime and manga, and is the author of the acclaimed Terra Ignota sci-fi series, among many other things. Tyler sat down with Ada […] The post My Conversation with Ada Palmer appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to j mct. But now you should doubt that the Viking ... by Dylan COWEN: Why doesn’t science fiction have higher social and ... by Zach We’ve all experienced during post-2020 those moments when a ... by MikeP empathy is vital to our ability to work with each other, to ... by Zach This plus Lazarus Lake episodes are reaching new heights. More ... by PR Plus 10 more... Related Stories *Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy* Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue Will misinformation be an electoral problem?  ( 8 min )

A new study suggests humans arrived in the Americas before the height of the last ice age more than 20,000 years ago

If this new estimate holds up, scientists have yet to identify the vast majority of earthworks strewn across the Amazon

A simplified penicillin allergy test could help reduce false positives, but doctors face challenges in using it

More states are requiring homeowners to disclose a property’s flood risk and history when they sell it. But 18 states, including hurricane-prone Florida, have no flood disclosure requirements

New “multimodal” AI programs can do much more than respond to text—they also analyze images and chat aloud

The furor over a Nobel Prize winner’s derailed career lets scientists off the hook for their own responsibilities to fix a broken academic reward system

Vaccinologist Peter Hotez explains how the movement to oppose science and scientists has gained power

Nightmares are unpleasant, but waking someone in the midst of one isn’t the best way to handle them—here’s why

Eight pages hidden in an archive led to the discovery of the story of Christine Essenberg

Worlds around red giant stars—and others that don’t orbit any star at all—hint at an unexpected diversity of possibilities for planets and life in the universe

Also linear utility, floating hurdle rates and Travis Scott.  ( 2 min )

Amid the race to make AI bigger and better, Lincoln Laboratory is developing ways to reduce power, train efficiently, and make energy use transparent.  ( 11 min )

The R Consortium is pleased to announce that on Sept 27, 2023, the R Submissions Working Group successfully completed the follow-up to the pilot 2 R shiny based submission and... Continue reading: Shiny App Successfully Reviewed by FDA CDER Staff (Pilot 2 Announcement 2)

Making changes to a legacy system can be daunting. How can we develop code when we don’t have unit tests for a part of a system we need to change? How do we ensure a new feature is unit-tested when the rest of the codebase lacks them? One approach ... Continue reading: Working With Legacy Code: Extending Shiny Modules with the Sprout Technique and Test Driven Development

Introduction Continue reading: Steve's Data Tips and Tricks 2023-10-04 22:00:00

What an incredible journey it has been! I’m thoroughly enjoying working with Stan codes, even though I don’t yet grasp all the intricacies. We’ve already tackled simple linear and logistic regressions and delved into the application ... Continue reading: An Educational Stroll With Stan – Part 4

In this short blog post I’ll be summarizing what I learnt these past years about Continue reading: An overview of what’s out there for reproducibility with R

With Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” around the corner, we’re looking at a rundown of films that the beloved filmmaker has singled out for praise throughout his 50-plus-year career. Having grown up as an asthmatic kid who spent most of his childhood binge-watching movies at the local movie theater while the other kids […]  ( 8 min )

In so far as we take the ‘organic’ character of language seriously, we cannot accurately describe the first steps towards its conquest as learning part of the language; rather it is a matter of partly learning. Donald Davidson In an academic setting, you don’t know something if you can’t participate in a conversation with other … Continue reading Being Conversant →  ( 5 min )

Brandon Del Pozo writes: Born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in the 1970’s, I came to public health research by way of 23 years as a police officer, including 19 years in the NYPD and four as a chief of police in … Continue reading →  ( 28 min )

As you undoubtedly know, the 2023 Nobel in physics has been awarded to , , and , for the development of techniques associated with optical pulses.  is the more popular write-up about this (including a good handwave of how attosecond pulses can be made) from the Nobel Foundation, and is the more technical version.  A number of people (including friends and relatives) have asked me in the last couple of days about this, including what discoveries have these techniques led to, and how is this work different than preceding Nobel prizes (like the for femtosecond chemistry, the  in physics for frequency combs, and the for femtosecond pulsed lasers).  This isn't really my area of expertise, but my impression from talking with people is that the attosecond work is thus far more of a technical…  ( 10 min )

The U.S. health care industry is not only cost inefficient but also energy inefficient, responsible for hundreds of millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. The resulting air pollution causes many of the very deaths that hospitals seek to prevent.  ( 14 min )

...

That's bù 不, plus = a-, il-, im-, in-, ir-, un-, non- prefixes in English. It can enter into Mandarin contractions, such as bù 不 ("not") + yòng 用 ("use") = béng ("needn't), and the two Sinoglyphs used to write the constituent morphosyllables can fuse to become béng 甭 ("needn't). Here's a whole slew of such […]  ( 8 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

“Whenever you are in Lagos, the streets are never silent and never still,” writes Yewande Komolafe of the 15 million-person metropolis where she grew up. In My Everyday Lagos (available October 24), the Brooklyn-based food writer, recipe developer, and food stylist for The New York Times leads readers through the streets, markets, and homes of this city by the sea. After decades spent in culinary school, restaurant kitchens, and test kitchens in the United States, Komolafe sees Nigeria and its many varied cuisines through both fresh and deeply familiar eyes. Komolafe cautions, “I implore you not to approach this cookbook from the perspective of an outsider.” Rather, she hopes readers will dive deep into the book's delicious offerings, whether or not they already stock woodsy calabash nut…  ( 30 min )

There’s nothing spooky about the Rite Aid on Fairmount Avenue in Philadelphia. Inside, you’ll find bright fluorescent lights, neatly lined-up products, and happy signage reminding you to use your shopper loyalty card. This modern drug store is far from a place paranormal investigators might want to explore. They do, however, want to investigate the famous—and famously haunted—Eastern State Penitentiary just two blocks to the west. Nonetheless, while Eastern State Penitentiary certainly played host to many unjust and inhumane events, the Rite Aid was actually built on top of an 18th-century mass grave site. Yet the drug store has no reputation for ghostly activity. On the surface, there’s an obvious difference between these two locations. One is a brightly-lit, modern chain store, and t…  ( 21 min )

Oginoya, now a major company known across Japan, was originally an inn adjacent to the Kirizumi hot springs, visited by such historical figures as Hirofumi Itō, Katsu Kaishū, and Akiko Yosano. Also among those luminaries was Katsura Tarō, who would later become Japan’s prime minister. During his visit to the Oginoya inn, Katsura mentioned the government’s plans to construct a railroad in the area. Hearing this, the innkeeper decided to shift his business, moving to the town of Yokokawa and establishing a kiosk just as the station opened in 1885. Though the new business was a success, the remote mountainous town did not receive many visitors to begin with, save for those traveling between Takasaki and Karuizawa. To provide warm meals to those passengers on the last leg of their journeys, Oginoya created tōge-no-kamameshi (“kettle rice of the mountain pass”) in 1957, now one of the most iconic station bentos of all time. Kamameshi is a traditional Japanese rice dish cooked in an iron pot with a variety of ingredients. Oginoya’s “kettle rice” consists of chicken, quail egg, shiitake mushroom, bamboo shoot, burdock root, green peas, chestnut, pickled ginger and apricot, laid out on the soy sauce-based takikomi gohan. It comes in a Mashiko ware clay pot instead of the typical iron kettle, giving a more rustic feel to it—and not only that, it’s a souvenir you can take home. Oginoya’s kettle rice is not only a must-try for tourists, but also a long-standing local favorite. As such, the people of Annaka often find themselves in common trouble: too many pots at home! But not to worry; the pottery has plenty of reuse potential for whatever purpose you can think of. While it’s commonly used as a planter or weight, old or unneeded pots are donated back to Oginoya to be repurposed in several ways, most notably recycled for local paving. If you enjoy camping or a bit of old-world cooking, you can also cook rice or even bake bread in it.  ( 15 min )

Across America and around the world, cities, and towns are turning to public art as a potential engine of tourism–looking for something (anything!) eye-catching enough to convince people to spend more time in town. In Salina, Kansas, this intersection of art and commerce is driven by the Salina Kanvas Project, and their largest commission to date has been wrapping a historic mill with grand images of children at play. In Salina's case, the building that comprises the canvas for the mural may be just as compelling as the art itself. The 100-foot-tall building was once the H.D. Lee Flour Mill. It was completed in 1898, and was operated for years by Henry David Lee, whose other business, a mercantile store, was already prospering. In 1913, Lee produced his first garment, an overall called L…  ( 14 min )

These centuries-old walls hold the gastronomical heritage of Mexico's traditional sweets. Founded in 1874 by brothers Alfredo and Luis Guízar de Arias, this traditional confectionary store is one of the oldest in Mexico City. Around 150 recipes from the north, south, and central regions of the country are produced artisanally in copper pots using wooden paddles with traditional ingredients. Initially, the sweets were brought from different states all over Mexico, but as their popularity and demand grew, the family began buying recipes from their partners. They soon began to produce the confections in the basement of their home and even invented some recipes of their own. The sweets produced then became a mix of Indigenous and European traditions. Today the sweets are produced in a separate workshop and another location can be found in the Colonia Roma. Nowadays, visitors can take a step back in time into the 19th-century French-style confectionary store and share a taste with generations past. It's the perfect spot to stock up on marranitos (pig-shaped cookies flavored with unrefined piloncillo sugar) or sugar skulls for the Day of the Dead. Why not try a huevo real [royal egg], an egg-yolk bread with honey and cinnamon that was even given to one of the viceroys of New Spain?  ( 14 min )

The Atlantic coastline of County Mayo is full of dramatic features, but Dún na mBó is something not to be missed. Found on the Belmullet Peninsula just south of Erris Head, this remarkable place features a winning confluence of nature and public art: a natural blowhole accentuated by an evocative sculpture that doubles as a means of keeping spectators safe from tumbling into the hole. The blowhole at Dún na mBó (also known as Doonamo Point) is located near the site of an ancient promontory fort that likely dates to the Iron Age. Blowholes are created by the enormous pressure of the sea eroding landward and upward, eventually creating a hole through which the water can spew at times of high tide or turgid currents.   Nearby there are other wonderfully scenic spots—Eagle Island Lighthouse can be seen from the coast, and the narrow headland of of Ceann an Eanaigh (Annagh Head) is a short drive from here.  ( 13 min )

Take one look at a Poitou donkey and you will fall in love. Meet one and you will be in love for life.  About an hour west of La Rochelle, in the quiet village of Dampierre-Sur-Boutonne you can find the the L'Asinerie du Baudet du Poitou. It is a public center on a historic farm dedicated to the conservation of the Poitou donkey. In the 1970s, the Poitou population was down to only 44 individual animals. One of the largest herds belonged to Suzanne Auger on her farm, La Tillauderie, which eventually became the L'Asinerie du Baudet du Poitou. The 55-hectare facility is part of the Echappées Nature network, which guarantees that beautiful areas of natural beauty within the Charente-Maritime region of France are preserved and are available to the public year-round. There are wide paths th…  ( 14 min )

The Wat Mahathat is one of the medieval Buddhist temples that comprise the World Heritage site of Ayutthaya, an ancient city steeped in history. It's home to what is perhaps the city’s most photographed, iconic, and haunting sight: the Buddha head in tree roots. A sandstone Buddha with a mild, merciful smile, the head sits perfectly positioned at the foot of a tall bodhi tree. Its roots, tentacular and vein-like, seem to swallow the Buddha head but fails to shroud its face, as if intentionally avoiding sacrilege. Made in the 1600s, the statue is believed to have been decapitated by the Siamese invaders in the 18th century, who also purposefully defaced and mutilated a large number of the effigies in Ayutthaya to enrage their devout Buddhist enemies. Deserted and left to rot, the head lay in the ruins among the dirt and weeds for year after year, until the bodhi tree started to grow on the spot, its roots lifting the Buddha’s head and keeping it upright—a miracle, or so some say.  ( 14 min )

Valberget Utisiktspunt was designed to replace the nearly 200-year-old wooden version.  Construction of the 85-foot (26-meter) tall tower took place between 1850 and 1853 and was led by Christian Heinrich Grosch, Norway's most famous architect of the time. From the tower, the watchmen could see from one end of Stavanger to the other. Early signs of fire were easy to spot from the tower's vantage point on top of a hill. Residents of Stavanger were warned by the ringing of a bell and the firing of cannons. The watchmen inside the tower worked in teams of four to six men and rotated solo patrols during their six-hour summer and eight-hour winter shifts. By the 18th century, the watchmen's role changed to only focus on fire detection duties. The last watch took place in 1922, completed by Tobias Sandstøl, who had held the position for 18 years. Providing there are no giant cruise ships in port, the tower provides amazing views over Stavanger, including the wooden houses at Gamle Stavanger, many of which survive today.  ( 13 min )

Though a landmark of the town, the Gohon Keyaki or “Five Zelkovas” of Kami-Itabashi are often met with contempt, especially from drivers who consider them an eyesore and the cause of traffic problems as they take up quite a bit of space in the middle of a road. Despite that, they are unlikely to be removed anytime soon, and their historic status may not be the only reason. The Five Zelkovas once stood together on the premises of the mansion of Yūjūro Iijima, the mayor of Kami-Itabashi back when it was a village, who generously donated his land for the construction of a road cutting through the area. There was one condition: that the zelkovas were not to be removed. Later, following the end of World War II, developers attempted to remove the trees to expand the road, but had to give up after various accidents and illnesses fell upon them, which some interpreted as a curse. To this day, the Five Zelkovas continue to stand tall and proud, though two of the original trees died in the 1970s and had to be replaced. Rumored to be haunted, some claim to have seen the ghost of an old lady or heard sobbing voices here at night.  ( 13 min )

Built in 1906, Jamieson Dry Goods Store (later Jamieson Department Store) served what was then the booming border town of Trinidad, Colorado; selling everything from fine dresses to kitchen appliances and toys. The department store was converted into a museum in 1991 to display the works donated by Mitchell's sister, Ethel "Tot" Mitchell-Erickson, after Mitchell's death in 1977. Often called the "King of Western Pulp," Mitchell is widely recognized for his western magazine covers, created for magazines like Wild West Weekly and Cowboy Stories. He was also a prolific painter and collector of Western memorabilia. Because Mitchell preferred not to sell his paintings, the majority of his work and belongings remain together in Trinidad. The museum is home to 250 of Mitchell's paintings including his nocturnes (night-pieces), thousands of photographs, sketches, and 100 or more paintings by Mitchell's friends and contemporaries. Other objects like boots, whips, and hats owned and used by Mitchell are all at the museum, including over 15 saddles.  ( 13 min )

The Lancaster County Jail was designed by Robert Mills and built in 1823. The building was designated a national historic landmark in 1973 due to its connection to Robert Mills, who is recognized as the first American-born architect, and who is most famously known for designing the Washington Monument. The building incorporates several design features that are linked to jail reforms intended to improve living conditions for both prisoners and guards. A few of these changes included separate living quarters for the inmates and guards, separating debtors from other inmates, and improving airflow into the building to name a few. The facility is beautifully preserved and can be viewed from Gay Street in Lancaster.  ( 13 min )

The beating heart of Bergamo’s historical center is Piazza Vecchia (Old Square). One side of this square is occupied by Palazzo Nuovo (New Palace), which is an outstanding example of a project that ran amok—construction began in the early 17th century and ended in 1958. The deconsecrated church by the name of Ex-Chiesa di San Michele all’Arco maintains its Baroque entrance beside Palazzo Nuovo, but the actual church is enclosed within the walls of the palace. When this church was first mentioned is a matter of debate, with some historians claiming it was in the 8th, and some in the 9th century.  It is also unclear whether the location of the church mentioned in these documents is exactly where the church is located today. Finally, the appellation “all’Arco” (at the arch) refers to a stru…  ( 14 min )

Although this roadside museum in Big Timber, Montana, may sound wild, it’s actually a history museum sharing the story of Sweet Grass County and the nearby mountain range, the Crazy Mountains. The Crazy Mountains got their name from the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation, who would head to the area to pray and fast, sometimes receiving revelations in return. They called the region Awaxaawapìa Pìa, which translates to “Ominous Mountains” or perhaps “crazy.” There is a more outlandish—and apocryphal—story of a pioneer woman whose family was killed by Piegan (Blackfeet) Tribal members, who then fled into the mountains and lived as an outcast. This false and colonialist history is still sometimes still shared today. The museum itself is mostly concerned with the settled history of the area of Big Timber. Exhibits include a look at the first settlers, industries such as mining and wool, and the Cobblestone City, a miniature diorama of Big Timber. The museum is a site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and features a garden with the types of plants that were collected from the expedition. Perhaps the highlight of the museum is the stabbur, a storehouse built and maintained by the Sons of Norway Fjeldheim Lodge #524, to honor Big Timber’s Norwegian heritage. Don’t worry, this crazy stabbur is completely harmless, and it even has a grass roof.  ( 13 min )

Excerpted and adapted with permission from What the Bears Know: How I Found Truth and Magic in America’s Most Misunderstood Creatures, A Memoir by Animal Planet’s “The Bear Whisperer,” by Steve Searles and Chris Erskine, published October 2023 by Pegasus Books. All rights reserved. In the late 1990s, the snow-globe village of Mammoth Lakes, California, hired hunter Steve Searles to shoot and kill 16 troublesome bears. In the course of his preparations, the bears won Steve over, and he soon developed nonlethal tactics to keep them out of harm’s way. In time, he became a local folk hero, a reality TV star, and a nationally recognized expert in the humane treatment of animals. Don’t tell Steve that. The gruff outdoorsman will quickly remind you the bears are the only heroes in this mounta…  ( 28 min )

Mastering the art of thought editing Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 7 min )

Knowing what to do and when to do it Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

A paper that found smoking rates in the United States fell faster than expected as more people started using e-cigarettes has been retracted over the objections of its authors, who have filed a complaint with the journal’s publisher.  As we reported in July, BMC Public Health informed the authors of “Population-level counterfactual trend modelling to … Continue reading Authors file complaint with publisher as journal retracts vaping paper  ( 8 min )

We are pleased to present an excerpt from Trust in Medical Research, a freely available new book by Warwick P. Anderson, emeritus professor of physiology and biomedical sciences at Monash University in Victoria, Australia.  It has always been difficult for me to admit that we have a genuine and substantial problem of fraud and rubbish … Continue reading To guard against fraud, medical research should be a profession:  A book excerpt  ( 11 min )

Nobel laureates sometimes wait 20 years or more after making their award-worthy discovery to receive the prize

September shattered a record for the highest temperature anomaly of any month and could help push 2023 to be the first year to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures

But dengue in wealthy countries could divert medication away from poorer nations that may need it more

A colorful quirk of quantum optics could lead to significant advances in quantum communication and computing

The popular decongestant phenylephrine is not effective, an FDA panel found. Here’s what to use instead.

The popular decongestant phenylephrine is not effective, an FDA panel found. Here’s what to use instead.

Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of quantum dots, an entirely new class of material that is used in large-screen TVs and cancer surgery

Canine experts weigh in on a TikTok dog vision filter and the rich sensory world of humanity’s best friends

Cats have attained evolutionary perfection

My former student, Xiaoyu He, invented this elegant puzzle and shared it with me. Puzzle. We’ve got a murder mystery on our hands. There are four suspects, and it’s pretty clear that one of them is the actual murderer. But here’s the twist: there are also four witnesses who know who the killer is. Now, […]  ( 5 min )

Plus: Mayor Frey picks Minnehaha Avenue site for new Third Precinct; Bloomberg profiles Majority Whip Tom Emmer; possible second Avivo Village tiny home shelter coming; and more.  ( 6 min )

At the very least, McCarthy’s brutal takedown allows Emmer, R-6th District, who currently holds the No. 3 position, to move one rung up the GOP leadership ladder.  ( 18 min )

Those who support a plan to add bike trails to the avenue say they’re opposed by a vocal minority. However, the departures of three supportive City Council members present an opportunity to the plan’s critics.  ( 19 min )

People of color who distrust the police are more likely to distrust the government and less likely to vote, perpetuating longstanding racial inequalities in Minnesota politics.  ( 13 min )

MinnPost doesn’t treat our political coverage like sports.  ( 9 min )

Plus: Sales tax increase goes into effect in Twin Cities metro; Olmsted County mulls over marijuana ordinance; man accused of "Wizard of Oz" ruby slipper theft to change plea; and more.  ( 6 min )

The subtitle of this new NBER working paper is: Teamsters, Truckers, and Impending Innovations.  Here is the abstract: We consider large, permanent shocks to individual occupations whose arrival date is uncertain. We are motivated by the advent of self-driving trucks, which will dramatically reduce demand for truck drivers. Using a bare-bones overlapping generations model, we examine […] The post Obsolescence Rents appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Reason. The data I have is for the US, but it's ... by Dan Hanson In reply to Mike. Telephone operators and even private ... by superdestroyer There were hundreds of thousands of switchboard operators in ... by Mike In reply to Dan Hanson. Are your claims about the US, the ... by Reason In reply to Anti-Gnostic. I suspect unions are to blame in ... by Reason Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Labor Market Returns of Being An Artist Will misinformation be an electoral problem? New issue of Econ Journal Watch  ( 7 min )

1. Lydia Davis update. 2. Soumaya Keynes and Janan Ganesh, both FT columnists, have been on a roll lately.  Here is one by Janan, here are the recent ones by Soumaya. 3. Translating Latin demonology manuals with GPT-4 and Claude. 4. Why do some people from the past become memes? 5. The gay younger brothers hypothesis. The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Viking. I think that gender atypical behavior ... by AMW In reply to Objection. You're just gonna leave out the fact ... by Derek2545 In reply to AMW. Maybe gay sons and daughters are so great ... by M if you need to see the dean o'diversity psychobabble in circles ... by community notes In reply to Steven. Hold on…..are you calling homosexuality ... by Justin Chang Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

The labor market penalty to choosing the arts seems to be rising: Using individual-level data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) between 2006 and 2021, I study the labor market experiences of artists. First, I find a decline in the relative earnings of artists to non-artists from zero to a 15% disadvantage. After […] The post The Labor Market Returns of Being An Artist appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Microchannels. Also, which discipline isn't ... by JSK In reply to rsm. You seem to be trolling this thread. If not, ... by Tom B In reply to rsm. The line of people that would like a Van ... by PHinton Photos meant the end of visual art. Its an obsolete skill. ... by Bob from Ohio In reply to Some Toronto Guy. What if you turned ghettos into ... by rsm Plus 10 more... Related Stories Work From Home Works Obsolescence Rents New issue of Econ Journal Watch  ( 7 min )

That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one bit: …consider the story that former President Barack Obama was not born in the US. It did not take off because someone forged a copy of an Indonesian birth certificate. Instead, many people approached the issue wanting to believe that Obama was not […] The post Will misinformation be an electoral problem? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Lee A. Arnold. “It's been called the U.S.'s ... by King Tut In reply to Naveen K. There are at least 20 different ... by Derek2275 In reply to Naveen K. People are misinformed about statistics ... by Bob In reply to Old Programmer. The policy solution is to accept ... by s In reply to TMC. You guys just cant admit that a police ... by steve Plus 10 more... Related Stories Obsolescence Rents From the comments, on OWS and PEPFAR Meta AI plus glasses  ( 7 min )

We spoke to experts to find out what to look for when buying extra virgin olive oil—and tasted 14 olive oils.  ( 36 min )

From classic boeuf Bourguignon to Texan chili con carne and vibrant Nigerian beef stew, we've got you covered with the best beef stew recipes.  ( 14 min )

Also the SEC’s fiscal-year-end incentives, bonds on sale and money-laundering line-drawing.  ( 2 min )

The tapestry of metaphors we’ve been weaving in the “Metaphors in Motion” series takes a mythical twist as we step into our fourth installment. We’ve traversed the plains of linear regression, delved into the binary realms of logistic regression, and c... Continue reading: Council of the Ents: How Random Forest in tidymodels Delivers Judgments

Introduction Continue reading: Creating Stacked Dot Plots in R: A Guide with Base R and ggplot2

Diving into this, we’re exploring how using numbers to express our certainty, especially with medical results, can help sharpen our estimated ‘posterior value’ and offer a solid base for learning and discussions. We often talk about ... Continue reading: An Educational Stroll With Stan – Part 3

As I am waiting in Prague airport for my flight back home, after a few days spent discussing the options of the SWGO collaboration for the detectors we are going to build, I came across (through compulsive scrolling on twitter) a thread that caught my attention. It was about emails to academics on PhD openings. Since I found the discussion there a bit too forgiving on the academics, I wish to express my position here - possibly in a less toxic environment. read more  ( 6 min )

Last week I received in my mailbox a copy of the Princeton University Press book "Machine Learning for Physics and Astronomy" by Viviana Acquaviva. They sent me a copy because I had reviewed its contents for Princeton Press.I am happy with the book. When I accepted to review it, I was a bit hesitant because I am not a computer scientist. I might pass as an expert in machine learning because after all I have been developing such tools for 20 years now (or maybe I should say over 30, as my first attempt was in 1992, with a bootstrap-powered classification method), but I feel I still lack knowledge in some of the theoretical underpinnings, and there are holes in my knowledge base.  read more  ( 5 min )

As you may have heard, Uri Simonsohn, Joe Simmons, and Leif Nelson learned a lot by reanalyzing data from an article, “Signing at the beginning makes ethics salient and decreases dishonest self-reports in comparison to signing at the end”; see … Continue reading →  ( 21 min )

Aywren's Nook Little pieces of joy Pixel Galaxy 📌 melankorin Antonio's Blog Smaller Pictures📌  ( 1 min )

Yesterday evening in a restaurant, our attentive server frequently asked us things like "Are we ready to order" and "How are we doing?". This waiter-we is pretty common, so I didn't notice it, though one of the other diners did. But when another server brought us a complimentary bit of sushi with the explanation "Here's some […]  ( 17 min )

I’m writing this post from memory. Yesterday, I was talking to some students and quoted Norman Mailer as saying, “a fact is a compression of nuances that alienates the reality.” Now, as I recall, (and I will check when I get the chance), the actual sentence (somewhere in, I think, The Presidential Papers), says, “…alienate … Continue reading Fact and Nuance →  ( 5 min )

U.S. health officials have never authorized the use of an avian flu vaccine for any animal in the country — not even poultry — for reasons ranging from practical to political. But when endangered condors started dying from the deadly H5N1 strain last year, wildlife officials rang the alarm.  ( 19 min )

I’ve been looking back at my very first published paper (for “reasons”), and in it there is the group , where is a compact manifold, and is the Banach Lie group of projective unitary operators on an infinite-dimensional separable Hilbert space (one needs to take the norm topology here). This very large group turns out … Continue reading A fun “little” example of a crossed module  ( 13 min )

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A self-administred poll in Nature about the respondents’ feeling about the prizes, with only 15% thinking it would be preferable to have none. As an absurd concept of singling out one scientist out the flock of top scientists, of comparing chalk and cheese, of idealising “great men” (since winners are predominantly men) with the ensuing […]  ( 6 min )

The Prehistoric Museum showcases the unique natural history of Utah. It is also home to an active paleontology lab, complete Allosaurus and Camarasaurus skeletons, along with various artifacts from the native tribes in Utah.  ( 13 min )

Within Berg's Bazaar in Riga, Latvia is the Jana Seta Map Shop. Shelves reach the ceiling and are filled with paper maps. At the end of the Cold War, many maps created in the former USSR became available and this shop bought them all. All of the maps inside have been scanned but there are still many originals available for sale. The details on these maps are amazing, yet scary. This shop also is filled with travel books and globes.  ( 12 min )

An extinct volcano on the island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), where visitors can drive up to the crater to look inside. The location also supports a fantastic of the city and the ocean on both sides of the island.  ( 12 min )

Dr Russell's Imaginarium is the name given to this quite fascinating museum which is situated in the outer Perth suburb of Guildford. Inside holds a treasure trove of items that the owner, Phil Russell, has gathered over a number of years. After overcoming a life-threatening accident at the age of 17, Russell pursued his lifetime ambition of opening up his own antique store and showing off his collection to the world. What started as a small collection of items has now turned into a museum and visitors can interact with antique items. The collection specializes in the weird and wonderful and has been built up over a period of 45 years. There are a range of items on show, including props and memorabilia from popular movies and television series such as Dr. Who and Star Wars, old advertising signs, and sex toys from over 100 years ago.  ( 13 min )

On the first floor of the Palace of Culture and Science building down the street from the Warsaw main train station is The Museum of Technology. It is dedicated to the wide variety of contributions the Polish people have made to science and technology. This museum displays the first Enigma machine developed in Poland. Computers, cameras, motorcycles, and cars are also included. The displays are engaging and English is included in all of the signage.  ( 13 min )

D-Day has become remembered as one of the most important days in history. The incredible tale of the combined Allied forces fighting back against the Axis powers as they swept across Europe has become a cornerstone of history. On the western shore of Southampton Water, relics of the D-Day are slowly being worn away to the sea. Small concrete bulks, known as "beetles," were part of giant floating piers used to offload the mass of vehicles and supplies onto the French Coast. These giant concrete piers were called Mulberry Harbours and their engineering was nothing short of incredible. While some Mulberry Harbour relics survive around the U.K. coastline, the sheltered waters of Southampton Water have allowed a few pieces to survive in relatively good condition along the shoreline, while rem…  ( 14 min )

The distinctive character of North Macedonia's relatively small capital, with a population of roughly 600,000, is encapsulated by the whimsical question: "How many statues grace Skopje's streets? I can't say for sure, but there may well be more statues than residents!" In fact, the city center is adorned with hundreds of extravagant, faux-classical, patriotic sculptures that didn't exist prior to the turn of the millennium. The Bridge of Civilizations serves as a prime example of this abundance, boasting an impressive collection of over 30 sculptures along a single downtown pedestrian crossing. Skopje's eccentric transformation commenced in 2008 with a budget ranging from €80 to €500 million. The project aimed to boost tourism and establish a distinctive city identity but sparked debates about diverting funds from essential infrastructure projects in favor of constructing kitsch, ornate statues, and neoclassical structures adorned with elaborate columns. This controversy led to protests and incidents of vandalism, including frequent paint-bombings of monuments. In Skopje's main square, you'll discover the city's largest statue featuring Alexander the Great on his loyal steed Bucephalus. However, it goes by the alias 'The Great Warrior' due to ongoing disputes between North Macedonians and Greeks regarding his heritage. This impressive 72-foot (22-meter) bronze statue, surrounded by warriors and a central fountain, serves as the centerpiece of the city's nightly light shows. Yet, it remains an anonymous tribute to one of history's greatest military commanders. The irony lies in the city's quest for recognition while unable to use his true name, Alexander the Great, showcasing the complex historical narratives woven into Skopje's streets.  ( 14 min )

Dario Argento’s 1975 Italian film Profondo Rosso, internationally known as Deep Red, is often considered a masterpiece of the giallo genre. Giallo films combine elements of murder mystery stories with tropes typically found in slasher movies. Often the protagonist has to figure out who the murderer is as characters are systematically killed off. Films like Argento's Deep Red have gone on to inspire films like the Scream franchise and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Much of the filming for Deep Red took place on-location in Turin, Italy, the center of Satanist practice in Europe at the time. Especially recognizable are the Teatro Carignano, Santa Costanza, Piazza CLN, and Villa Scott, known as Villa del Bambino Urlante in the film, which all play a key role in Deep Red. Built in 1902 for Alfonso Scott, an executive of the short-lived auto company, Villa Scott stands in the affluent Borgo Po neighborhood, west of the city center. It’s one of the major works by architect Pietro Fenoglio, a pioneer of the Italian Art Nouveau movement called Liberty style. The villa appears in the Argento film as the Villa del Bambino Urlante, the “House of the Screaming Child.” Rumored to be haunted, the villa sits abandoned on the outskirts of Rome (instead of Turin as in real life) and hides a vital clue to the mystery, revealing a disturbing mural of a child holding a blood-soaked knife over a ghastly body when the protagonist Marc investigates the site. At the time of the production of Deep Red, the villa was owned by a convent of nuns and operated as a boarding school for girls. To use the location, the production team sent all the girls and the nuns away to Rimini and paid for their vacation.  ( 14 min )

It’s almost over. For years, Luigi Giovanni Brusa has struggled for air and battled a persistent cough. In his final moments, he crumples back into a seat of rough stone. His arms limp at his side, a devoted woman to his right looks at him with affectionate concern, and perhaps a bit of surrender, rubbing his chest. It’s a touching scene—carved entirely from gray granite. It feels almost like an imposition to cast eyes on this vulnerable moment captured in stone. But that’s how Brusa wanted it. The master granite carver in northern Barre, Vermont, just 45 miles southeast of Burlington, enlisted one of his most talented peers, Donato Coletti, to hand carve his gravestone. The finished monument shows Brusa’s final moments as he struggles for breath after years of inhaling granite dust. W…  ( 19 min )

Sarasota, Florida, was the home of two of the five original Ringling Brothers. As such, it has a strong connection to the history of the circus. In 1985, the city decided to erect a circus ring of fame, modeled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Today it lives in St. Armand's Circle, where passersby can see plaques for P.T. Barnum, the Ringling brothers, and countless acrobats, animal trainers, daredevils, tightrope walkers, trapeze artists, and more. The largest monument is of John Ringling himself.  ( 13 min )

Moving at a whopping speed of 0.3 meters per second, the Viennese City Hall houses one of only six Paternosters in the whole city. The city hall paternoster (Latin for "Our Father") was built in 1918 and houses enough space in each cabin for two brave people. The creaking as it moves might make you start praying for its namesake, but have no fear, no harm will come to you if you go past the final floors on the top and bottom. Just stay calm and watch the lift switch directions. And who knows, you might just come out the other side a braver person.  ( 13 min )

Looking somewhat like a meteorite sitting on a pedestal, this stone is a memorial to the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre. During the 1960s, and in 1968 particularly, massive student protests erupted around the world, from the United States to Czechoslovakia to Japan. Mexico was no different. In 1968, protests in Mexico intensified ahead of when Mexico City was set to hold the Summer Olympics. At the time, students were protesting the government and police violence after riot police and army personnel killed several students at the National Preparatory School in San Ildefonso in an effort to end a violent student mob that erupted after a soccer game. One of the main schools involved in the protests that followed was the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). (UNAM oversaw the Nationa…  ( 15 min )

Bagolino is a small village perched on the steep slopes of Val Sabbia. The history of this village goes back to the Ancient Roman Empire when it conquered these territories around the year 16 CE. There is evidence suggesting that the Romans established an outpost for changing horses along Val Sabbia. In due time, the settlement grew into a hamlet, and so an early iteration of Bagolino was born. Much more documented is the role the village played throughout the Middle Ages.  By and large, the village still retains a medieval feel with narrow, winding roads flanked by rows of old houses attached to one another, cobblestone staircases cutting through the historical center, and quaint little squares with timeworn fountains. The high concentration of houses and communal urban space suggests that the land is precious in these mountains.  Yet, space must be made for the dead as well as for the living.  A cemetery dating back to the Middle Ages was once located by the main church (Chiesa di San Rocco), but Napoleon, through the Edict of Saint Claude in 1804, forbade the burial of the dead within the confines of populated areas due to hygiene concerns. And so, the Old Cemetery was built on the outskirts of the village. Mirroring the row of old houses in the historical center of Bagolino, the Old Cemetery is characterized by a row of chapels along the road. These disparate chapels were commissioned by local affluent families, and they exhibit a wide array of architectural styles.  Behind the row of chapels is the burial ground for the less affluent. Here are hundreds of tombs, most of which are well over a century old.  Of note are ancient wrought iron crosses that testify to the mastery of local artisans.  ( 14 min )

The animal world is full of harbingers of doom—at least, according to superstitions. From the Tower of London’s ravens (whose departure would signal the fall of an entire nation) to the average black cat crossing your unlucky path, plenty of critters warn of woe. In Ominous Animals, we explore the lore—and the science—behind these finned, furry, and feathered messengers of impending calamity. In July, divers off the coast of Ruifang, Taiwan, encountered a glimmering, serpent-like figure suspended vertically in the water, like a metallic party streamer glinting in the sun. The creature was docile as the divers swam around it in awe but, back on land, word of its presence spread ripples of panic. In videos taken by the divers, the creature's mirror-like, scaleless skin seems to blend …  ( 20 min )

In 1968, the poet Diane di Prima moved from New York to San Francisco. She wanted to work with the Diggers, self-identified community anarchists who performed street theater and organized mutual aid projects, from free stores to free housing to the dissemination of produce, hot meals, and bread. Shortly after her arrival, Di Prima’s Volkswagen van was enlisted to help with the Diggers’ food distribution efforts. For Di Prima, who had come of age during McCarthyism and the FBI repression of the 1950s, the opportunity to turn her ideals into action was thrilling. “Suddenly to be able to be out in public, delivering food, having be-ins,” Di Prima said in a 1999 interview, “it just took a weight off your heart about having kept your mouth shut too long.” Over the next year, her household del…  ( 25 min )

Each week in October, University of Manchester Egyptologist Nicky Nielsen will share an intriguing aspect of ancient Egyptian beliefs and traditions surrounding death and the afterlife. On the morning of Oct. 16, 1817, Italian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni entered a narrow rock-cut fissure in the Valley of the Kings. As he navigated a long, sloping passageway, the light of Belzoni’s torch illuminated beautiful and, to the Italian, strange symbols covering both walls and ceiling. He had found the tomb of the Egyptian king Seti I (1323-1279 BC). “I may call this a fortunate day,” Belzoni would later write. “One of the best, perhaps, of my life.” In the very heart of the tomb, in the burial chamber of the king, Belzoni found what would later be recognized as one of the most detaile…  ( 18 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit a four-acre garden in Wilmington, Delaware, with characters and exhibits created using castoff materials and greenery. It invites kids to drop screens and rules, and instead give in to a state of play. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 14 min )

A Moral Dilemma: Colonialism, Oppression, and Individuality Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

You could be a published author in a few simple steps. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Plus: Nonprofit Let Them Play MN comes under financial scrutiny; two new invasive pests invaded the state this summer; Strib cartoonist goes from full-time to freelance; former Twins sportswriter Jim Caple dies; and more.  ( 7 min )

A housing nonprofit and community groups are asking Minneapolis city officials to invest more resources into addressing ongoing crime in the area.  ( 14 min )

Businesses across southern Minnesota are keenly aware of the problems with our antiquated policies, as there are too few work visas for immigrants and the chaotic immigration system chokes off the ability of more migrants to legally access employment-based immigration.  ( 6 min )

“[The Minneapolis Sound] is different than any other type of music. We have the Minneapolis Sound and people around the world want that, but unless you’re here you won’t know the feeling of that.”  ( 11 min )

This Saturday, Liquid Music teams up with Milkweed Editions for a book launch, where Ellis will be bringing his saxophone and laptop and plans to play music, sing and read parts of the book, followed by a conversation with Chris Martin, editor-at-large for Milkweed Editions.  ( 10 min )

Plus: Ex-partner of Madeline Kingsbury charged with two counts of first-degree murder; undocumented Minnesotans can now apply for driver's licenses; the odds of 18 straight playoff losses for the Twins; and more.  ( 7 min )

Designed to ensure safer skies, “Air-Guardian” blends human intuition with machine precision, creating a more symbiotic relationship between pilot and aircraft.  ( 8 min )

Fish can be tricky to cook perfectly, but with these seven carefully constructed seafood stew recipes, you'll get excellent results every time.  ( 13 min )

Our favorite tips (from deglazing and seasoning to adding meat) for elevating any jar of tomato sauce to a place you're really happy with.  ( 16 min )

There is clearly a lot of negative emotional reactivity regarding these glasses going on here, but it’s worth thinking about the implications, both positive and negative. 1. They clearly can be built with current technology. Therefore, assuming they are useful, they will be built. 2. It clearly looks like they provide a much superior hands-free […] The post From the comments, on the new Meta smart glasses appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Slight Nitpick. ACN AcrobotJeff Daniels ... by Equestrian In reply to clear-eyed, blue collar guy. Cops' body cams ... by mikeInThe716 In reply to DRP. I think they'll increase the incidence of ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Moral Panic. Will the police be forced to wear ... by clear-eyed, blue collar guy In reply to PHinton. Model Y is the best selling car in the ... by aaron Plus 10 more...  ( 7 min )

1. On Stripe Press and homage to the printed book. 2. Scott Sumner movie reviews.  The very best links you will get here, if you are worthy of them that is. 3. NYT review of the new Michael Lewis book. 4. BAP responds to Michael Anton. 5. A fertility reckoning? 6. Social media referrals to […] The post Tuesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Anon. Claremont is not alt-right, and very ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Lord Action. Scaling back pensions so that ... by M In reply to seegs. Thanks. by anonprof In reply to PHinton. “It's moderately expensive if one of ... by JWatts In reply to JWatts. I realize that 1975 is a bit of an ... by JWatts Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

There is somewhat of an intellectual void in Republican leadership over the past 20 years. Occasionally that void creates space for a uniquely good idea that doesn’t align too well with ideology. When the Democrats are in charge, there are plenty of mainstream Democratic ideas to fill up the agenda, so nothing too unusual happens. […] The post From the comments, on OWS and PEPFAR appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Some exhibits in support of the commenter's thesis: ... by Sam In reply to RAD. So, you have to wonder why Republicans ... by Gridlock In reply to Tom T.. Any examples? The civilians are supposed ... by steve In reply to Reason. 25% of covid deaths are below age 65. ... by steve In reply to Rich Berger. None of trump's lawyers alleged ... by ? Plus 10 more... Related Stories Why have economically declining regions turned toward right-wing parties? Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue *Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy*  ( 6 min )

This is now twenty years of Econ Journal Watch, congratulations to Dan Klein!  Here is the table of contents: Volume 20, Number 2, September 2023 Screening the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation: In an article in the American Economic Review, Desmond Ang purports to show causal impact of screenings of the film between 1915 and […] The post New issue of Econ Journal Watch appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Paradox. Any rejection, for whatever reason, of ... by MikeP In reply to Viking. A conservative read of the homicide rate, ... by Viking There is a pre-print server: https://vixra.org/ that ... by ohwilleke Birth of a nation and lynching? ... by Viking In reply to MikeP. Any rejection, for whatever reason, of an ... by Paradox Plus 10 more... Related Stories Work From Home Works The need for hospital price transparency The PayPal StableCoin  ( 8 min )

An educated person will have all four levels of speech. The more highly educated they are, the higher up the scale their language capacity will go, though they may not be familiar with some of the argot of the lower levels. Of course, all four levels are language, but that is possible because "language" has […]  ( 11 min )

ChatGPT and similar AI programs give propagandists and intelligence agents a powerful new tool for interfering in politics. The clock is ticking on learning to spot this disinformation before the 2024 election

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will resume funding long-term rebuilding projects after withholding funds since August

NASA’s Perseverance rover has collected valuable samples, but a new report says the plan to fetch them is unworkable

NASA has reversed course on plans to curtail the New Horizons spacecraft’s planetary science studies following a rebellion among the mission’s leaders

Trust is built on social norms and basic predictability. AI is typically not designed with either

Drug users must be considered in health and climate preparedness efforts

The U.S. may not beat China at retrieving Martian rocks first, according to an independent review board’s conclusion. But the U.S. can still lead with an exchange of samples here on Earth

Next-generation 6G technology could “enable applications that we may not even imagine today”

Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier split the award for their ability to picture nature in a billionth of a billionth of a second

Whistleblowers, WhatsApp, SPAC projections, bribery, a new Sculptor bid, AI for hedge funds and an ethics competition.  ( 2 min )

The Museum of Mathematics organizes a biannual conference in recreational mathematics called MOVES: Mathematics Of Various Entertaining Subjects. Being a math-recreatinalist myself, I attend all of them. The last one was held in August 2023 and was devoted to the mathematics of Fiber Arts. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed I had something […]  ( 6 min )

A couple years ago I suggested: A quick fix in science communication: Switch from the present to the past tense. Here’s an example. A paper was published, “Māori and Pacific people in New Zealand have a higher risk of hospitalisation … Continue reading →  ( 17 min )

Igor Grossmann writes: Together with colleagues from Innsbruck, Vienna, and Waterloo, we are launching an exciting new project and we would like to invite you to participate in (and your PostDocs, PhDs and other team members): it’s a crowd analysis … Continue reading →  ( 12 min )

Math scores among American students — which had been stagnant for more than a decade — are now getting worse. Several largely overlooked reports raise alarms about how Americans’ disdain for math is a threat to national security, while the number of jobs in math occupations is quickly increasing.  ( 16 min )

Your focus seems to be on propositional knowledge but there’s also procedural or embodied knowing (e.g. that underpins skills), tacit knowing (incl. instinct & intuition), collective or distributed knowing (how we operate and negotiate with others and the world) and metacognition? Tim Fawns I got a good response on X to my last post. Tim … Continue reading Underlying Skills →  ( 6 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Creating Interactive Radar Charts in R with the ‘fmsb’ Library

Introduction Greetings, humanists, social and data scientists! Ever imagined a world where any computer with an internet browser could be your playground for programming in R? Believe it, because this is your reality! Google Colab enables you t... Continue reading: How to use R in Google Colab?

An ... Continue reading: Elliptic cyclide by inversion of a torus  ( 7 min )

Today was the first-ever Blanton–Hogg group meeting. But it was the first ever , since I missed the first two for health and travel reasons. It was great! Tardugno (NYU) showed simulations of gas disks with embedded planets. The planets affect the disk, and the disk causes the planets to interact. Daunt (NYU) showed that his method for inferring (simultaneously) the spectrum, tellurics, and radial velocities in stellar spectra all . I am stoked! Novara (NYU) showed that he has a bug in his code! But we had a good discussion inspired by that bug about surfaces of section in a real dynamics problem. Gandhi (NYU) showed us a paper with questionable claims about the CMB light passing through galaxy halos?notfor meworks  ( 14 min )

Team Ratings for Week 5 The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference New Zealand 19.21 16.32 2.90 Ireland 18.17 15.46 2.70 South Africa 17.93 16.35 […] RWC 2023 Predictions for Week 5 first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 4 min )

Team Ratings for the Quarter-Finals The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference Wellington 12.13 8.72 3.40 Canterbury 6.95 9.44 -2.50 Waikato 4.58 3.71 0.90 Bay […] Bunnings NPC Predictions for the Quarter-Finals first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 4 min )

Those who consume too much alcohol or other recreational drugs often make excuses. Like “I’m no worse than many others”, “I still manage to get to work most days”, or “Let’s wait til my problem gets worse, like I can no longer walk”, or “They’ll soon make a version without bad side effects”. Such folks can benefit from associates pushing them to a

An ISBA-BNP webinar on Wednesday, 4 October, at 17:00 UTC by my friend Steve McEachern: Familial inference: Tests for hypotheses on a family of centers Many scientific disciplines face a replicability crisis. While these crises have many drivers, we focus on one. Statistical hypotheses are translations of scientific hypotheses into statements about one or more […]  ( 7 min )

An ISBA-BNP webinar on Wednesday, 4 October, at 17:00 UTC by my friend Steve McEachern: Familial inference: Tests for hypotheses on a family of centers Many scientific disciplines face a replicability crisis. While these crises have many drivers, we focus on one. Statistical hypotheses are translations of scientific hypotheses into statements about one or more […]  ( 7 min )

These 14 dessert bars range from fruity and chewy to full of chocolate. Whether you want a quick weeknight dessert or you're baking for a crowd, you're sure to find a winner.  ( 14 min )

Bánh Mì Khong's (Bánh Mì Bread's) tender crumb and shatteringly crisp exterior is perfect for making bánh mì sandwiches.  ( 22 min )

NanoWrimo is coming up in November and once again I feel the pull to participate. I am not affiliated to the organisation behind this… Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

5 ways to use this little three-letter powerhouse to empower readers to act Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Because creativity can’t be forced. But you can stimulate it Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

It’s fun to dream of success, but don’t get caught in a nightmare Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE SEPTEMBER 30, 2023, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. A friend recently gifted me a recipe booklet from 1941 called Bananas … How to Serve Them. Published by the Meloripe Fruit Company, it features 56 banana recipes, as well as helpful tips like how to gauge a banana’s ripeness, and how to “flute” bananas to make them more presentable when serving (use a fork to draw lines down the sides of a peeled banana, then slice crosswise into “dainty crinkle-edged rounds.” Who knew?) Many of the savory recipes in the book, like Banana Meatloaf and “Salmon Salad Tropical,” have been lost to history, for good reason. The desserts are more familiar to a modern palate—for the most part. Nestled among banana cream pies, milks…  ( 24 min )

Home to numerous museums, temples, and the oldest zoo in Japan, Ueno Park reigns supreme as one of Tokyo’s top tourist attractions. Most likely, any visitor to the city finds themselves walking in this park sooner or later, at least once during their trip. Once part of the huge temple complex of Kan’ei-ji, the park itself boasts plenty of interesting landmarks, from an abandoned train station to the face-only Great Buddha. There is another unusual attraction hiding in plain sight, where most visitors simply walk past unaware of its existence. The Suribachiyama tumulus, also referred to as the “Old Tomb on Mount Suribachi” in the description on its historical marker, sits inconspicuously along the paths in Ueno Park leading up to the zoo and the museums. Were it not for the sign, it could easily be mistaken for a regular hill, complete with simple benches on top. It is, however, a legitimate archaeological site, estimated to be around 1,500 years old. Having been severely damaged throughout its history, no excavation has officially taken place here, leaving it a bit of a mystery. It is apparent, though, that it is a keyhole-type burial mound typical of the Kofun period of Japan, and a handful of pottery sherds have been found at the site.  ( 13 min )

On a quiet hilltop in eastern Colorado, scarcely distinguishable from the plains surrounding it, lies a small granite monument. Adorned with the profile of a Native American with a feather headdress, it reads “SAND CREEK BATTLE GROUND / NOV 29&30, 1864”. However, what happened here in 1864 was hardly a battle. The name of the National Historic Site containing this monument bears a more accurate name for this event: the Sand Creek Massacre. By the 1951 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the Cheyenne and Arapahoe held most of eastern Colorado and other land in the Great Plains. With the Pikes Peak Gold Rush bringing thousands more white settlers to the territory, Colorado officials were looking for ways to get more territory from the Indigenous people. Efforts to extract more land were met with fierc…  ( 15 min )

Pulling up to Cactus Jack’s Family Fun Center on the western outskirts of Oklahoma City, it’s hard to distinguish the facility from any other semi-suburban arcade that rings cities across the country. But the unassuming exterior of the building masks a passion for competitive pinball that is matched by only a few locations across the entire southwest. Cactus Jack’s bills itself as Oklahoma’s oldest arcade, having operated in the same location since 1974. For most of its history, it was a traditional arcade, rentable for birthday parties and events, and even today most of the facility is still devoted to a standard array of now-classic arcade games and children's prizes. However, as the allure of arcades declined by the 2000s, Cactus Jack's reoriented itself around pinball. It now boasts the largest collection of modern pinball machines in the state, and one of the 10 largest public collections in the country. Today, the collection rivals those found at many of America's biggest pinball museums, although its commercial focus means it places a heavier weight on newer games and modern classics, as opposed to the vintage games found in similar locations countrywide. In 2015, the arcade became the host site of the first competitive pinball tournament ever held in Oklahoma, and it continues to host both national and regional tournaments, as well as meetings of the Oklahoma Pinball Enthusiasts Club.  ( 14 min )

In the late 19th century, the mysterious death of Zona Heaster Shue raised the perplexing question: Did she die of natural causes, or was it murder? It was true Zona's mother, Mary J. Heaster, never approved of her daughter's marriage to Erasmus Trout Shue, but did he kill her? On the fateful day of Zona's death in 1897, Trout Shue asked a neighbor to call on his wife at home. When the young man walked inside, he found Zona dead on the floor.  Curiously, Shue prevented a thorough examination of the body and helped dress her with a high collar and veil "tied in a large bow under her chin." Despite his efforts, witnesses reported that Zona's head was noticeably "loose upon the neck." She was buried with no charges filed against her husband, but Mary Heaster knew his secret—her daughter's spirit appeared to her, revealing foul play.  Upon exhumation and autopsy, Zona's broken neck and crushed windpipe provided clear evidence that she, indeed, had been murdered. Trout Shue was put on trial, and Mary Heaster's testimony of her daughter's visits from beyond the grave told the real account.  Within an hour, the jury convicted Trout Shue of first-degree murder, sentencing him to life in prison. This bizarre Greenbrier County case is the only trial in which ghostly testimony led to a murderer's conviction.  ( 13 min )

Accademia Carrara is the flagship art museum in the city of Bergamo. The more than 300 items on display consist mainly of paintings and sculptures, but there is also an outlier: the Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards.  The original deck of cards is from the mid-15th century, and it was created by a painter by the name of Bembo Bonifacio. However, before the end of the 15th century, three cards had gone missing, and another painter, Antonio Cicognara, decided to re-produce the missing cards. This deck of tarot cards was originally produced for the Sforza family, and it is believed some human figures are actually portraits of several members of this aristocratic family.  Subsequently, the Visconti family acquired possession of the deck. These cards are a valuable testimony of what courtesans used to do to entertain themselves in their palaces, but there is more to it than this.   In fact, they also offer a glimpse into what was considered proper or fashionable at the time, and what the dwellings must have been like. At this juncture, it is important to stress that tarot cards were not used in cartomancy and divination until the 18th century, which means that these cards were used for card games—alas, the rules were not recorded. It is mind-boggling to think these cards were used in games, as it is more appropriate to think of them as miniature works of art. Within the constraints of an 87-millimeter by 176-millimeter canvas, the details are extremely intricate, and the materials used include silver and gold.  Upon close inspection, one can appreciate the careful punching work that creates beautiful geometric patterns. A complete deck of tarot cards has 78 cards: 14 cards for each of the four suits (aka Minor Arcana), and 22 symbolic cards depicting human archetypes (aka Major Arcana). At present, the deck is divided as follows: 26 cards at Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, 35 cards at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, and 13 cards are privately owned. Four cards from the deck are missing.  ( 14 min )

This story was originally published on The Conversation and appears here under a Creative Commons license. The word “witches” makes many Americans think of women working in league with the devil. But that hasn’t always been the face of sorcery. Most of Catholic and Protestant Europe embraced the idea of magic as a satanic craft practiced by women, and strong, independent women were kept in line through such accusations. In Orthodox Russia, however, accusers overwhelmingly blamed men for bewitching them and held different ideas of where the power of “magic” came from. Evidence about Russians’ belief in witchcraft survives in all kinds of documents from the 12th to the 18th centuries: sermons; historical chronicles and tales; stories of saints’ lives; laws and decrees; manuals of her…  ( 22 min )

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we go on a journey through the depths of the ocean, meeting a different squid deity at each stop along the way. Our guide is bonafide cephalopod expert, biologist, and science educator Sarah McAnulty. Learn more: Sarah is teaching a course this fall about the creatures that live in the deep sea. It starts October 3, 2023. Use promo code CEPHALOPODCAST when you sign up to take 15 percent off. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories. Join us daily, Monday through Thursday, to explore a new wonder with cofounder Dylan Thuras and a neighborhood of Atlas Obscura reporters.  ( 15 min )

Atlas Obscura’s weekly crossword comes to us from Natan Last, a writer who also helps develop policy and digital products for refugees and asylum seekers. His work can be found in The Atlantic, Los Angeles Review of Books, The New Yorker, and other publications, and he's currently working on a nonfiction book about crosswords. You can solve the puzzle below, or download it in .pdf or .puz. Note that the links in the clues will take you to Atlas Obscura pages that may contain the answer. Happy solving!  ( 12 min )

At times, the enormous BlueWalker 3 telecommunications satellite is brighter than some of the most iconic stars visible from Earth

About one in five U.S. counties are both socially vulnerable and highly exposed to natural disasters, which could “compound existing inequities,” the Department of the Treasury says in a new report

Biochemist Katalin Karikó and her colleague Drew Weissman were recently awarded a $3-million Breakthrough Prize for their work

We present the latest updates on ChatGPT, Bard and other competitors in the artificial intelligence arms race.

A new study reveals an “AI placebo effect”: the same chatbot will respond differently depending on its users’ assumptions about artificial intelligence

Whether or not UFOs exist, we need to pay attention to how they are influencing our politics and culture

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman were awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for mRNA vaccine discoveries that made highly effective COVID vaccines possible

Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence have prompted big questions about the future of work and even human creativity. Experts have suggestions for how to manage all these unknowns

The best learning investment you’ll ever make. For one week only, get unlimited access to DataCamp for one month for just $1. Regular subscription resumes after first month. Running until October 8, 2023, online data science and AI learning platform DataCamp is offering its premium subscription for only $1. With DataCamp Premium, you ... Continue reading: Get DataCamp Premium for Just $1!  ( 8 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Horizontal Boxplots in R using the Palmer Penguins Data Set

The most used parameterization of the ordinary torus (the donut) is: ... Continue reading: The torus and the elliptic cyclide  ( 7 min )

This blog post is just a note that when you try to do a grouped summary of a date variable but some groups have all missing values, it will return Inf. This means that the summary will not show up as an NA and this can cause issues in analysis ... Continue reading: Summarising Dates with Missing Values  ( 7 min )

Diffusion models in ESGtoolkit + announcements. Continue reading: Diffusion models in ESGtoolkit + announcements

This is Jessica. Zach Lipton gave a talk at an event on human-centered AI at the University of Chicago the other day that resonated with me, in which he commented on the adoption of causal inference to solve machine learning … Continue reading →  ( 14 min )

OK, more on junk science. Sorry! But it’s been in the news lately, and people keep emailing me about it. For those of you who want some more technical statistics content, here are some recent unpublished papers to keep you … Continue reading →  ( 28 min )

Plus: A pickup truck strikes a Metro Transit bus, killing one; Prairie Island Indian Community nears completion of the tribe’s net zero carbon project; Minneapolis Farmers Market attendee stabbed; and more.  ( 6 min )

Saturday's Legacy Cannabis Cup was the first installment of the event since recreational marijuana was legalized in Minnesota, and there was a palpable excitement for the budding industry's future among the gathered entrepreneurs.  ( 26 min )

The short-term funding bill expires on Nov. 17, and there’s no guarantee lawmakers in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate will come to an agreement on how to fund the federal budget before that deadline.  ( 18 min )

How, exactly, does one define when a smell is not just bad, but "interferes with the enjoyment of life?” Lawmakers and state regulators are trying — at least in the Twin Cities metro area — to take on odor that invades everyday life.  ( 25 min )

Kyros, a platform that connects people to substance use disorder peer recovery specialists, will use the raise to expand service access.  ( 11 min )

Ecological justice solutions are not a new idea for MPS, which has a history of implementing green school initiatives. With more federal funding, we could take these initiatives to the level that reality requires.  ( 13 min )

It featured a group of 3-to-5-year-old characters, inspired by Charles Schulz’s childhood in the Twin Cities.  ( 10 min )

Support the news you rely on.  ( 5 min )

Plus: Como Park High School volleyball coach charged with criminal sexual conduct; U of M students moved into Identity Dinkytown apartment; fungal infection seen in more Minnesota dogs; and more.  ( 10 min )

Also Su Zhu, Ackman/Musk X SPARC, Lordstown and Dumb Money.  ( 2 min )

This movie was deeper and more philosophical than I was expecting.  Imagine a Buddhism that decides the AIs represent the true renunciation of desire, and thus embody the Buddhist ideal.  Globally, the AIs ally themselves with the Buddhist nations, now unified under a “Republic of New Asia” banner.  Mostly it looks like Vietnam (water buffalo), […] The post *The Creator* (movie review with spoilers) appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments I thought this review was good for the discussion of what's ... by Matt In reply to PK. >a country that wouldn't exist now without ... by Derek227 In reply to Bilbo b.. This movie is getting absolutely ... by Derek22 In reply to M. But Michael Crichton's 1973 movie is great! by cthulhu Youtuber “The Critical Drinker” has a semi-positive review. ... by mikeInThe716 Plus 10 more...  ( 7 min )

1. Overview of Robert Putnam.  Interesting piece. 2. Okie-dokie. 3. And (same source) thwarted markets in everything? 4. The Joseph Walker podcast with Katalin Karikó.  Redux. 5. “Harvard ranked 248th out of the 248 schools that were ranked. Not only did Harvard rank last, but FIRE singled us out for special scorn, stating that Harvard’s score was six standard […] The post Monday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Cancelled for wongthink. You seriously think ... by Roger Sweeny In reply to Fake Bill. Do you mean free speech is only for ... by Gridlock In reply to Bill. Yes, Harvard is an evangelical university. by Roger Sweeny In reply to RAD. “Penn is not the hero of her story” ... by Tom T. In reply to Demosthenes. Yes, this article seemed ... by y81 Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

It took firms decades to adjust to electricity by redesigning factories, products, and workflows to take full advantage of the new possibilities. Similarly, the benefits of work from home start to come most profoundly when expensive offices can be shrunk, employers can draw from a much larger pool of workers and workers can adjust when […] The post Work From Home Works appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to superdestroyer. Data is better than anecdotes, ... by dan1111 In reply to Clay. this is widely assumed to be behind all the ... by wormbridge In reply to nf. can I ask what you do please? by wormbridge In reply to JC. great point on the end. I think I've read ... by wormbridge In reply to Felix Melior. I seem to have an amazing ability ... by Hazel Meade Plus 10 more... Related Stories The need for hospital price transparency The PayPal StableCoin Ayn Rand on the Antitrust Laws  ( 8 min )

PEPFAR is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, started by George W. Bush in 2003. Overseen by the State Department, the program provides treatment for HIV-AIDS and derivative maladies (such as tuberculosis) through training, medical infrastructure, support for orphans and vulnerable children, and, most important, antiretroviral drugs. By some estimates, the program has saved 25 million […] The post PEPFAR has been a great achievement appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Ricardo. The brains of the Kusher family is ... by Cancelled for wongthink Sorry to rain on your parade…but PEPFAR was just Kabuki ... by Cancelled for wongthink My reaction when I see “OWS” is to expand the initialism to ... by BReed The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) under George H. W. ... by a different gladwell In reply to Ricardo. ” but what does Jared Kushner have to ... by JWatts Plus 10 more... Related Stories The need for hospital price transparency What should I ask Patrick McKenzie? States with high (low) rates of reporter mental illness  ( 7 min )

In 2015, a big team of researchers tried to redo 100 psychology studies, and about 60% failed to replicate. This finding made big waves and headlines, and it’s already been cited nearly 8,000 times. But the next time someone brings it up, ask them to name as many of the 100 studies as they can. My bet […] The post Sentences to ponder, scientific fraud edition appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Rich Berger. From the favorite news source of TC: ... by Rich Berger In reply to HB. The replication crisis is only part of the ... by kwazii In reply to joan. Shhh. Don't tell anybody about the ... by Apply_Same_to_Economists I mean, I'm not going to read the article, but the excerpted ... by Steve Winwood In reply to SB. You probably recognize that you will only ... by Apply_Same_to_Economists Plus 10 more... Related Stories A new estimate of costs from global warming Why have economically declining regions turned toward right-wing parties? Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue  ( 7 min )

It’s Nobel Prize week, and the work behind mRNA COVID-19 vaccines has just earned the physiology or medicine prize. But this is Retraction Watch, so that’s not what this post is about. A Nobel prize-winning researcher whose publications have come under scrutiny has retracted his 10th paper for issues with the data and images.  Gregg … Continue reading Nobel Prize winner Gregg Semenza tallies tenth retraction  ( 8 min )

On Aug. 17, 2022, Nicki Tiffin received a notification that she had published a new study. The problem? She had never submitted an article to the journal in which the paper appeared.  A year later, despite efforts by Tiffin and others, the journal has not responded to retraction requests, and the article remains online. Further … Continue reading One year later, bioinformatics journal with unclear leadership yet to retract plagiarized article  ( 11 min )

The 1970s is a revered period in the canon of cinema. It is an era defined by auteurs having complete control of their artistic craft. ‘70s cinema, often cited as New Hollywood, shaped the collective consciousness of the power and role of a film director. Not only are there undeniable works of art across the […]  ( 10 min )

By focusing on causal relationships in genome regulation, a new AI method could help scientists identify new immunotherapy techniques or regenerative therapies.  ( 10 min )

Study shows users can be primed to believe certain things about an AI chatbot’s motives, which influences their interactions with the chatbot.  ( 10 min )

One thing I revel in about the English language is the huge number of loanwords it has:  French, Latin, Greek, Native American, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Kurdish, Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, Irish, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Maori, Hebrew, Yiddish, Afrikaans, Zulu, Swahili, and so on and on […]  ( 11 min )

Dev Cheatsheets (github)📌 “A collection of code snippets and CLI guides for quick and easy reference while coding” PlayingCards.io (privacy policy) 📌 “Play any tabletop game online with friends.” The Garden of Computational Delights 📌 “Beneath the utilitarian purpose of computation, computing is also a source of delight and wonder.” S5: A Simple Standards-Based Slide Show System 📌 “...a slide show format based entirely on XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript” 100+ lesser known but useful websites 📌  ( 2 min )

After this brief follow-up to the last not so simple test, I’ll be back with some new links for ya. 😎  ( 1 min )

If you’re going to join a call to have a book removed from a school library, you should do your homework first. That means reading the book –  all 305 pages, not just the one and a half pages someone else photocopied and distributed in a letter of complaint addressed to the community. The library […]  ( 12 min )

...

For the last five years, two researchers in Wisconsin have been searching for dugouts, a type of canoe carved from a single tree trunk. What started as 11 documented canoes has now grown to 80. The boats offer a glimpse into Indigenous culture — and the environment — before Europeans arrived in North America.  ( 17 min )

This question can be asked at different levels of generality. “It is raining,” you may say; or, “The climate is warming.” You may know it is raining because you have just been outside or you have looked out the window or you have checked your weather app. You may know that the climate is warming … Continue reading How Do You Know? →  ( 6 min )

Two siblings alternate between fantasy and the real world after their father is the victim of a political conspiracy.  ( 2 min )

No content preview  ( 1 min )

The ELLIS PhD Program is now accepting applications. ELLIS PhDs are co-supervised by one ELLIS fellow/scholar/unit faculty and one ELLIS fellow/scholar/member, both based in Europe. The ELLIS initiative has the goal to foster and educate the best talent in machine learning and related research areas by pairing outstanding students with leading academic and industrial researchers […]  ( 6 min )

Any stream of financial payments can be turned into an asset, by selling a transferable right to receive that stream of payments. For example, from the stream of tax payments that each individual citizen pays to the government each year, we could create “personal tax assets” (PTAs). These are rights to have part of this stream of money diverted to you. (We need not bundle such assets with any control rights over the target taxpayer, how much they owe, or how their taxes are collected.)

And why is it so important for storytellers to get this right? Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Quitting is not an option Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Henry Farrell and Cosma Shalizi, "Behold the AI Shoggoth", The Economist 6/21/2023 ("The academics argue that large language models have much older cousins in markets and bureaucracies"): An internet meme keeps on turning up in debates about the large language models (LLMS) that power services such OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the newest version of Microsoft’s Bing […]  ( 9 min )

The research suggests that Oxford’s student population was by far the most lethally violent social or professional group in any of the three cities. The team behind the Medieval Murder Maps – a digital resource that plots crime scenes based on translated investigations from 700-year-old coroners’ inquests – estimate the per capita homicide rate in Oxford to have […] The post Oxford fact of the day, medieval murder edition appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Reading the paper helps,. It's like the women are ... by Equestrian In reply to mkt42. Good question. In terms of push factors, ... by M In reply to Equestrian. I was going to say the same thing. by jjjackson In reply to Cherry-Pickers-R-Us. Why ignore suicide stats, ... by rsm In reply to mkt42. So we just kill ourselves now, in this ... by rsm Plus 10 more...  ( 7 min )

1. NSF partners with the Institute for Progress to test new mechanisms for funding research and innovation. 2. Two-minute AI-generated podcast about the jazz music of Sun Ra.  From Trellis. 3. Gideon Lewis-Kraus on scientific misconduct (New Yorker).  Excellent piece. 4. “State partisanship and COVID vaccination rates are strongly predictive of COVID death rates even […] The post Sunday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to MikeP. Father of many kids here. Their lives ... by Pillow Lasers In reply to JFA. So are we just looking at another noise ... by rsm In reply to Charlie Munger: The Sequel. Morning or afternoon ... by Reason Closing in on three years of discussion and debate and COVID-19 ... by Stan Greer In reply to Skeptical American. Nate Silver's political views ... by SXS Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Okay this is sick pic.twitter.com/IUv29cLIeA — Daniel (@growing_daniel) September 28, 2023 The post Meta AI plus glasses appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Phil C.. 1 & 2, yes. 3 & 4 not really; it ... by Good comment In reply to Pipsterate. I have face recognition blindness – ... by Defektor In reply to blue jay. A lot of people – like the vast ... by Sean In reply to Derek228. I wouldn’t worry. Chemtrails, ... by Joe Bush In reply to Phil C.. The not-so-unstoppable force of ... by dystopian replicant love triangle Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Productivity of Online Education Increases *Building God: Demystifying AI for Decision Makers* The best sentence I read today (so far)  ( 6 min )

The paper, by David J. Winter and Manuela Kiehl, is titled “Long-term Macroeconomic Effects of Shifting Temperature Anomaly Distributions.”  I’ve posted a few papers showing results like “5 to 10 percent of global gdp by 2100” (try here and here), and I promised I would pass along further and different estimates.  Here is the abstract: […] The post A new estimate of costs from global warming appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Error_Spotting. I never said anything against ... by No In reply to AR6. Hmmm. On that page you find: “Mean air ... by Error_Spotting In reply to schmedly amongst academics. Addendum, the fish ... by schmedly amongst academics In reply to Error_Spotting. AR6 12.5.2 Emergence of Climatic ... by AR6 In reply to Error_Spotting. Read the pages and IPCC report ... by Error_Spotting Plus 10 more... Related Stories Why have economically declining regions turned toward right-wing parties? Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue *Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy*  ( 7 min )

What is a 2-rig, and why is the free 2-rig on one object the category of Schur functors?  ( 11 min )

What is a 2-rig, and why is the free 2-rig on one object the category of Schur functors?  ( 11 min )

Paul Alper points to this fun news article by Andrew Van Dam, who runs the “Department of Data” column for the Washington Post. Van Dam writes: According to our analysis of more than 110,000 responses to the National Health Interview … Continue reading →  ( 13 min )

Dan Klein points us to this event announced by Abel Brodeur and Anna Dreber: On October 26th 2023 we will organize the Stockholm’s Replication Game at the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. Participants will be matched with other researchers working … Continue reading →  ( 9 min )

A battery-free GPS may change the game for tracking elusive animals

Scientists are now growing mycelium, the fungal root network, into fire-retardant sheets to provide a safer, nontoxic way to protect buildings

A key genetic mutation—harmful in humans—may have opened the sky to bats

Scientists accidentally discover metals that mend themselves without human intervention

Tilapia skin’s collagen can aid in healing burns, fixing heart valves, and more—and now it can be used for repairing corneas

Mammals munching on dinosaurs in China, Greenland’s melted past, coral catastrophe in Florida, and much more in this month’s Quick Hits

Letters to the editors for the May 2023 issue of Scientific American

A molecular additive allows different kinds of plastic to be recycled together

An age-old remedy that was prescribed by Hippocrates may be a cheap alternative to antibiotics for those with chronic wounds

Researchers have created the first nerve-controlled prosthetic hand that can be used in daily life

Why we’re seduced by nature’s toxins, horror stories for winter solstice, and more books out this month

Earth as a zoo; sunburned eyes

Male hellbender salamanders normally tend their young, but lately they’ve been devouring them instead

A special package explores problems and solutions to the geography of injustice

Federal investment in carbon capture could help fight climate change, but this technology is facing fierce opposition

In case you didn’t get the memo, the presidents of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) want you to stop talking about sex already.  Or at least they want anthropologists to stop.  Ellie Kincaid reported last week for Retraction Watch that a panel presentation entitled “Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby: … Continue reading How a canceled panel on sex plays into censorship by the right: A guest post  ( 12 min )

Small typo in exercise 8.4.D. A space missing between "Suppose" and "\pi".  ( 14 min )

The other week, I found an interesting looking library on GitHub. ada-url, a Continue reading: adaR: An accurate, fast and WHATWG-compliant URL parser  ( 9 min )

I hope you’ll forgive me John but I’m using your ‘simple test’ post to see if this simple test provides the desired result. Thanks!  ( 1 min )

Dude’s got an eye for beauty! 😎 jamie's epic web zone 📌 Blog•Feistel•Party thecozy.cat ⇾ Cyuucat  ( 1 min )

A common task in analysis is to obtain bounds on sums or integrals where is some simple region (such as an interval) in one or more dimensions, and is an explicit (and elementary) non-negative expression involving one or more variables (such as or , and possibly also some additional parameters. Often, one would be content […]  ( 28 min )

A common task in analysis is to obtain bounds on sums or integrals where is some simple region (such as an interval) in one or more dimensions, and is an explicit (and elementary) non-negative expression involving one or more variables (such as or , and possibly also some additional parameters. Often, one would be content […]  ( 28 min )

Trying to spread the word: The at Rice University in Houston, Texas invites applications for two tenure-track faculty positions, one experimental and one theoretical, in the area of quantum science using atomic, molecular, or optical methods. This encompasses quantum information processing, quantum sensing, quantum networks, quantum transduction, quantum many-body physics, and quantum simulation conducted on a variety of platforms. The ideal candidates will intellectually connect AMO physics to topics in condensed matter and quantum information theory. In both searches, we seek outstanding scientists whose research will complement and extend existing quantum activities within the Department and across the University. In addition to developing an independent and vigorous research program, …  ( 10 min )

Today I got invited to be on a panel discussion (hosted by Soledad Villar of JHU) with Alberto Bietti (Flatiron) about the theory and practice of machine learning. It was great! We talked about why ML works for scientific applications, and Bietti said something (obvious maybe) that I loved: Maybe ML only works because of properties of the . That is, maybe when we are analyzing ML methods we are looking in the wrong place, and we should be analyizing the data to which they are successfully applied? I made fun of interpretation in ML, and that led to interesting comments from both Bietti and the audience. Several audience members suggested taking something more like a approach to interpretation: How does the method work under interventions or in conditional situations? That's interesting; it isn't what a physicist would consider interpetation, but it might be sufficient in many cases.datacausal  ( 14 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

Solid grounds for your castle of words. Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

The all-important basics to avoid dying on the slush pile Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

If you can't make up your mind what to do about something, then in French you would say "je suis partagé":  I'm torn or divided over it.  You can't decide what to do about it.  You can't make up your mind whether to be pleased or angry with something.  But the verb "partager" means "to […]  ( 9 min )

1. Rating the Polish cities. 2. New jobs at Open Philanthropy. 3. Paul Krugman on interest rates (NYT).  I am not persuaded, but there is a coherent argument here and this is currently one of the most important questions. 4. New results on surging business formation during the pandemic. 5. Lex Fridman and Mark Zuckerberg […] The post Saturday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Colin C. The fed needs to “say no”…… by paddy “5. Lex Fridman and Mark Zuckerberg avatar chat.” Pretty ... by mkt42 In reply to Vik. Yesterday's NY Fed reverse Repo sale was ... by paddy In reply to Phil S.. Poe's Law strikes again, and the ... by y81 In reply to Cancelled for wongthink. You're talking about ... by Anonymous Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Greater price transparency doesn’t have to cost much money upfront, as most of what is required is attention. A critical majority of Americans — including doctors, patients, politicians, media and hospital board members — needs to insist on this outcome. And I do mean insist. Just as, at some point, a critical mass of Americans demanded […] The post The need for hospital price transparency appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Kaleberg. there are about as many un-insured ... by sisterogersintersectionalneighborhoodfilmreviews In reply to Dino the Isaurian. People who do check for price ... by floccina In reply to JWatts. The MDs don't know because for most of ... by floccina In reply to JWatts. Did you ask them how much it would cost ... by somaguy “Who will be the Greta Thunberg of price transparency?” ... by dazed Plus 10 more... Related Stories The PayPal StableCoin Ayn Rand on the Antitrust Laws They are solving for the equilibrium  ( 7 min )

PayPal customers can now transact in PayPal USD, a crypto stablecoin tied to the dollar. So which type of PayPal dollar, regular or crypto, is safer to hold? Surprisingly, the crypto dollar is backed by safer assets, gives you better rights in the event of a bankruptcy and is more transparent. The reason is not […] The post The PayPal StableCoin appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Bob. If you read computer security blogs. Rule #1 ... by Kaleberg In reply to OldCurmudgeon. And at the same time, you have to ... by Bob “I recently enlisted one of personal chargeback recovery ... by Williams smith Does the SEC consider PayPal USD to be a currency or security? ... by Terry In reply to Hadur. That sounds like an amazing 3D printer. ... by Hi Plus 10 more... Related Stories Ayn Rand on the Antitrust Laws Patents, Intellectual Property and the Rise of the Rent Seeking Society They are solving for the equilibrium  ( 8 min )

Have you ever visited a bookshop and noticed that a cover caught your attention in just the right way?  But then you say “Nah, I don’t want to read a book right now on that topic.”  But then you crack open the book and read a short amount and the quality of the work catches […] The post *Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage* appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Kevin. His “A Man of Good Hope” was also ... by a-non In reply to peri. You do not defend your dignity with your ... by mdap > I learned just how much it was the earlier white South ... by mdap In reply to mkt42. I didn’t know the Chinese did humor, ... by peri In reply to Calvin Hobbes. Yeah, and for those who don't know ... by Whatever Plus 10 more... Related Stories From my email, I will read this book Patents, Intellectual Property and the Rise of the Rent Seeking Society *Building God: Demystifying AI for Decision Makers*  ( 7 min )

Thrillers come in many shapes and sizes, ranging from films like Shadow of a Doubt to The Silence of the Lambs. Thrillers are interchangeable, sometimes dipping their toes in other genres such as action, horror, mystery, fantasy and western. But one thing any great thriller should have, is the audience’s attention. An effective thriller needs […]  ( 10 min )

* * * —What’s the best way to get a math tutor?—An add! * * * —Why was the equal sign so humble?—Because she knew she wasn’t greater than or less than anyone else. * * * —Where do mathematicians go on vacation?—Times Square. * * * —Why do cheapskates make good math teachers?—Because they […]  ( 5 min )

Reading this mini-obituary of the great third baseman reminds me of a passage from Earl Weaver’s autobiography. It has a great passage . . . I don’t remember the exact words, but it’s relating some important game where Brooks Robinson … Continue reading →  ( 19 min )

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital city, is a sprawling metropolis in the country's north-central region. Ulaanbaatar is home to all manner of housing, from the traditional felt tents known as ger to little log cabins in the hills and valleys. It's here that visitors can also find Dambadarjaa Monastery, one of the country's three main Khalkha Buddhist monasteries. The monastery here was established in the 1700s in a quiet northwestern section of Ulaanbaatar. The remains of a Buddhist spiritual leader, the Second Khalkha Jetsundampa, are interred here. Although Dambadarjaa is one of Ulaanbaatar's main monasteries, it is not as well known or visited as the capital's other monasteries. The monastery was ransacked in the 1930s during the Stalinist purges. Subsequently, new temples were built, and the newest temples are bright and colorful. While the older temples have fallen into disrepair, the newer ones beg to be visited. Around 50 monks live here and may unlock one of the temple doors for visitors. With a little renovation work, this could become a tourist attraction, but currently, the site dwells in obscurity.  ( 13 min )

Hey guys, welcome back to my R-tips newsletter. In today’s R-tip, I’m sharing the top 9 R packages that I use almost every day… You’re getting the cheat code to learning these R packages. Plus, I’m sharing a 200 lines of R code that shows how you can ... Continue reading: Top 9 R packages (that every Data Scientist must know)  ( 11 min )

The United Nations President of the General Assembly’s High-Level Panel on the development of a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index have (September 2023) released an Advanced Unedited Version of their Final Report, and along with it the scores on that... Continue reading: The UN’s proposed Multidimensional Vulnerability Index by @ellis2013nz  ( 8 min )

A couple of months ago I read a Continue reading: Creating typewriter-styled maps in {ggplot2}  ( 10 min )

We only remember a fraction of our dreams, and even those slip away if we don’t try to remember them—here’s why

We only remember a fraction of our dreams, and even those slip away if we don’t try to remember them—here’s why

A pediatric oncologist is racing against time to send scores of sick children out of Ukraine for medical aid.

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: We also added The Retraction Watch Mass Resignations List. Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to well over 350. There are more than 43,000 retractions in The Retraction Watch Database — which is now part of Crossref. … Continue reading Weekend reads: ‘The band of debunkers’; a superconductor retraction request; ‘the banality of bad-faith science’  ( 8 min )

Self-guidance, or simply guidance, is fundamental to systems for image generation including both diffusion-based image generators, such as the well known DALLE generator, and autoregressive image generators such as CM3leon. A technical definition of guidance is given below. While Guidance … Continue reading →  ( 8 min )

A fascinating experiment run (!) by researchers from Lyon and Torino, testing the impact of different pacer formations on the air drag of a specific runner, and leading to a predicted 4¼mn gain on a marathon for the optimal configuration. Inspired by (and in agreement with) the Nike Breaking2 and INEOS1:59 Challenge attempts. Of course, […]  ( 6 min )

Record-breaking rains caused major flash flooding in New York City, reminiscent of Hurricane Ida and a sign of what climate change will increasingly bring

A government shutdown would disrupt biomedical research and clinical trials as federal experimental facilities shuttered

EPA rules on clean cars, power plants and methane could face delays if there is a federal government shutdown because of budget turmoil in Congress

Will a possible breakthrough for room-temperature superconducting materials hold up to scrutiny?

After eight years maturing in a burrow, male tarantulas venture out to mate, then die a cruel death

Recognizing that interests are malleable and can be developed can make us more resilient, open and creative

In Who Wrote This? linguist Naomi S. Baron discusses how artificial intelligence threatens our ability to express ourselves

For decades industry has claimed that curbing pollution costs too much, but the reality has proven otherwise. Here we go again, this time on power plant carbon emissions

An astronomy festival in Italy opted to make all of its events and workshops multisensory. They wanted to see whether sound, touch and smell can, like sight, transmit the wonders of the cosmos.

This annular solar eclipse will only reveal its full glory to a select few, but onlookers across much of the Western Hemisphere can catch a partial glimpse of the dazzling phenomenon

A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Implementing Synthetic Data Generation Techniques with ChatGPT and Supporting Tools Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

On playing it too safe Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Your story’s first impression makes or breaks the reader’s interest Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

The news is flooded with stories about Hui Ka Yan 许家印 (MSM Xǔ Jiāyìn), one of China's wealthiest individuals, Chairman and Party Committee secretary of Evergrande Group, the mega real estate corporation that is currently going belly up, being arrested on suspicion of "illegal crimes".  That expression sounded so strange that I had to find […]  ( 8 min )

Several people have sent me pointers to the linguistically-themed 9/27/2023 NYT crossword puzzle. For some discussion by Sam Corbin, see "Talk, Talk, Talk", NYT 9/26/2023 ("Scott Koenig puts silly thoughts to bed with a clever crossword"), which includes a quotation from the puzzle's author: I first learned about Professor Chomsky as an undergraduate linguistics minor. […]  ( 12 min )

By the late 1930s, the question was no longer whether a Second World War would break out, but when—and who would be drawn into it. Whatever was going to happen in Europe or Asia, the United States should stay out: This was the opinion of a large segment of the American public, led by “America First” celebrities like Charles Lindbergh. The United States was large and self-sufficient enough to keep minding its own business, the isolationists argued. Why spend blood and treasure on wars in faraway places that did not concern America? This remarkable cartographic artifact illustrates one of the more far-fetched reasons for staying out of the coming World War: should America end up on the losing side, that could result in the dismemberment of the United States, à la Poland in previous centu…  ( 21 min )

Some places on this Earth are intangible, existing more in our minds than in our eyesight. Whether it’s an invisible border between countries, a lake no one is allowed to see, a metaphorical post office whose messages disappeared into a tree, or buildings left abandoned to memories that are no more, sometimes what matters are the parts you don’t see. From Kenya to Russia, host Dylan Thuras takes listeners to underappreciated places that, with time, have grown beyond what they first appeared to be. In these four episodes, we revisit some of our favorite podcasts where the stories are bigger than the views. The 49th Parallel The longest undefended national border on Earth was defined before the use of GPS, using compasses, math, and the stars. Hear about the town that helped establish the separation between the U.S. and Canada. Lake Karachay If you stood on the shore of this lake for just one hour, you would die. Hear more about the lake on a nuclear dumping site in Russia that inspired some macabre artists—even though they were never allowed to see Lake Karachay. The Dedan Kimathi Post Office Tree A tree in Kenya was used to deliver secret messages during the country’s fight for independence from Great Britain. Hear how one writer searched for the tree and the messages that still might be there. Secret Places with Ashley Ray A comedian and podcaster proclaims a love letter to the unloved places of her childhood hometown. Hear about the abandoned and secret places of an underappreciated midwestern city.  ( 14 min )

A gem, hidden on the slopes of Monte Barbeston. The area is characterized by ancient type rock with special properties known since ancient times. On the path between Alpe Valmeriana (Pontey) and Bellecombe (Châtillon), a separate track has been built to go over this peculiar place. In the past, it was also called the Strada del Sole ("Road of the Sun"). It was scattered with splendid remains of ancient circular stones. Some thought they were resembling solar disks. The "disks" are nowadays all around the variation on the path. This site has been of historical interest for centuries, from antiquity to the Middle Ages. It is a short but steep hike to the first bits of the first wheels or "disks", pacing is important. The path leads up to a high cave, Grotta Alta, where scratches cover the …  ( 14 min )

Surrounded by green mountain ranges, Yamanashi Prefecture is home to sites of ancient worship, most notably shrines dedicated to Mount Fuji. There is also a folk belief unique to Yamanashi, which many Japanese folklorists consider an enigma: Maruishi-gami, or “spherical stone gods.” Names and natures do agree, as the Maruishi-gami is just what it’s called—a spherical stone. But are they natural or artificial? Hard to tell, it seems. How does one worship them? Depends on whom you ask. They appear to be a sort of dōso-jin, the roadside deity that offers protection to a traveler, but that’s not always the case. Likely a remnant of primitive animism surviving into modern local culture, few locals are concerned about the origin of their stone gods, only paying them the respect that they deserve. As such, academic research is severely lacking on this subject and there remains a lot to be deciphered. Though no survey has been done, it is estimated that there are over 700 Maruishi-gami across the prefecture, a majority of them found in Yamanashi City. The largest of its kind is located in the Nanoka-Ichina neighborhood, a boulder seated on the throne of smaller rocks. Locally beloved, it remains in good care.  ( 13 min )

With 500 taxidermied birds, jail cells from the 1800s, and a mysterious mannequin that’s been known to appear in the clock tower window (not an official exhibit, but a bonus), the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington, is a must-see. The museum spans three buildings: At the Lightcatcher, take in fine art and traveling exhibits, indigenous cultural displays, and bring children to the Family Interactive Gallery. In Old City Hall, wander the John M. Edson Hall of Birds and listen to their unique calls, learn about local Pacific Northwest history (can you spot the hidden Bigfoot?), or walk inside a 19th-century padded cell in the basement’s old city jail and read the prisoners' carvings preserved in the walls. And if that’s not enough, make an appointment with a local historian at the Syre Education Center to examine the museum’s priceless photo archives. (Ken Burns has.) With 200,000 items in its care, the museum's collections are a little like grandma's attic—and you never know what new and surprising items will be on display. But the Whatcom Museum is also a Smithsonian Affiliate, hosting masterpieces from around the country. From the weird to the wonderful, it has something for everyone.  ( 14 min )

Located inside South Germantown Recreational Park, this museum boasts a broad and diverse collection of dairy farm-related memorabilia, interesting exhibits, and even interactive model milking cows to educate and entertain visitors. Located on what was once a 350-acre farm, the King Barn Dairy MOOseum is housed in a cement block, 72-stanchion dairy barn that dates back to 1930. It was built by James and Macie King after 13 of the original buildings they had purchased in 1913 had been destroyed by a tragic fire in 1926. The King Family managed the barn for over 30 years. After James King died in 1958, Macie and their son ran the business for two more years before selling the family business. The farm was purchased some years later by the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and with support from corporate and individual donors, the land was developed into the South Germantown Recreational Park and Maryland Soccerplex. Though the barn had deteriorated over the years, it was preserved due to its solid construction and augmented with replicas of the original silos. The MOOseum welcomed its first visitors in June 2010, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony and official opening on October 23, 2010. The MOOseum includes exhibits that will interest visitors of all ages, including two model cows on which visitors can try out their milking technique. Other exhibits include various milk bottles, a collection of glass cow figurines, a database of all known dairy farms that have existed in Montgomery County, Maryland. There are also a craft room and play room to pique the interest of younger visitors. The docents are extremely friendly and knowledgeable on all aspects of dairy farming, and can also point out one particularly old tree that has been around since before the King Family bought the farm.  ( 14 min )

Select any day in the life of Étienne-Gaspard Robertson (1763-1837) and you might find the Liège-born artist and scientist conducting experiments in electricity, floating through the sky in a hot air balloon, or conjuring demons and the ghosts of French luminaries such as Marat and Rousseau. But it's these necromantic arts that most distinguish his towering tomb in Cimitière du Père Lachaise. Robertson spent his young adulthood in Paris during the height of the Terror. He was a talented painter from an early age, and made a living through small painting commissions while attending lectures on the burgeoning science of electricity. A tutoring post in a wealthy household enabled him to learn mathematics and physics from his benefactor's educated brother, further advancing his intellectual …  ( 15 min )

“Slovenia has a strong connection with beekeeping,” says Peter Kozmus, one of the country’s—and the world’s—leading experts on bees. “Historically, every village had at least one beekeeper who produced honey for himself, his relatives, and neighbors.” This tradition continues today, with approximately one in every 200 Slovenians keeping and tending to bee colonies. Kozmus has been a beekeeper since he was 14 years old. Today, he runs a honey farm in Pilštanj in eastern Slovenia, where he tends to more than 100 bee colonies. He also heads the breeding program for the 8,000-member Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association, a nearly 150-year-old education, research, and training organization. Drive through the verdant countryside, and you’ll notice hobbit-sized huts, similar in appearance to gard…  ( 20 min )

The now-faded mining town of Butte, Montana, was once known as the “Richest Hill on Earth.” The copper mining industry enticed tens of thousands of people to Butte to work under harsh conditions, including many immigrants from around the world. Thousands of Chinese workers moved to Butte beginning in 1868, establishing a thriving business district in the world’s largest mining camp, all while facing increased hostility and distrust. While Butte remains the home of the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant, little of this history otherwise remains. The Mai Wah Society was established to preserve the memory of Butte’s Chinatown, and the Society then founded the Mai Wah Museum to house its artifacts and tell its story. The museum comprises two buildings in Butte’s Uptown: the e…  ( 14 min )

Wonder is everywhere. That’s why, every other week, Atlas Obscura drags you down some of the rabbit holes we encounter as we search for our unusual stories. We highlight surprising finds, great writing, and inspiring stories from some of our favorite publications. Why Was Abraham Lincoln’s Bowtie Always Crooked? by Harry R. Rubenstein, National Museum of American History In many of his most iconic images, President Abraham Lincoln’s bowtie is askew. Staff at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., wanted to know why. Was he bad at tying it? Were those around him too intimidated to straighten it? The answer, the museum discovered, was much more straightforward: It was stylish to be slightly off-kilter. The Sea Eagles That Returned to Mull by Emma Marris, Hak…  ( 18 min )

When it comes to mashed potatoes, not all spuds are created equal. Our guide tells you the best potatoes to use depending on the type of mashed potatoes you're planning to make.  ( 13 min )

We tested seven nut milk makers by making almond milk, cashew milk, and oat milk to find the model that made the smoothest, creamiest non-dairy milk.  ( 22 min )

Pickles hold significant cultural weight in Türkiye; this recipe features a tangy and crunchy medley of cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, bell peppers, lemon, garlic, dill, and, most importantly, is a tribute to the author's family and heritage.  ( 22 min )

We used our years of experience and extensive equipment reviews to pick out the best early Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sales.  ( 14 min )

Why is the status quo so risky? Individuals and foreign countries may dump U.S. treasury bills and bonds on the market because of a loss in confidence. That would make interest rates spike and could create a major economic collapse.  ( 14 min )

Plus: September 2023 poised to tie hottest in Minnesota history; police investigate “safety threat” made on social media involving Breck School; remembering acclaimed Minneapolis painter Mike Lynch; and more.  ( 9 min )

While there’s a body of research on how substances affect brain development, researchers say there has been no comprehensive study looking at early years of life over a long period of time.  ( 17 min )

Despite some troubling data around safety and vehicle trends, good things happening are on the ground and with new technology.  ( 18 min )

The law in fact tells retailers they cannot serve a THC beverage to a customer who appears intoxicated or has drunk alcohol within five hours, but it doesn’t take effect until 2025.  ( 15 min )

Right now, drought is the one consistent condition along the length of the river. The Mississippi has reached near-historic lows for the second year in a row, which is slowing down shipping and driving up costs for everyone from barge companies to grain elevators.  ( 19 min )

With a shutdown looming, Washington is abuzz with talk of a Freedom Caucus attempt to replace Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.  ( 19 min )

For many Americans, schoolyards are the public open spaces nearest home. America’s public schools sit on 2 million acres of land.  ( 11 min )

Plus: 15,000 COVID deaths reported in Minnesota; lawsuit alleges Hastings Creamery owes $800K to dairy farm; WIC will continue to run in Minnesota in case of federal government shutdown; and more.  ( 6 min )

A Roman statesman awaiting execution is visited by the personification of philosophy.  ( 4 min )

“Today, a column of tanks or a column of advancing troops can be discovered in three to five minutes and hit in another three minutes. The survivability on the move is no more than 10 minutes,” said Maj. Gen. Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy commander of Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence service. “Surprises have become very difficult […] The post The new warfare? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments The biggest lesson of this war was that traditional ... by Fazal Majid In reply to Sean. [music plays] bumm bummm, bum bum bum bumm by George Oh-Well In reply to asdf. Idk about anything being so obvious. We ... by George Oh-Well In reply to Sure. Slow drones might stand a chance against a ... by Lord Action In reply to Oldcurmudgeon. The US started a war & ran out of ... by carlospln Plus 10 more... Related Stories They are solving for the equilibrium What should I ask Patrick McKenzie? From my email (on single-parent families)  ( 7 min )

1. On the need for German supply-side reforms. 2. BAP on Argentina. 3. LLMs are a new kind of operating system (duh). 4. A chain of comments on Amazon. 5. “Sweden is considering using its military to help police in the battle against gang crime, following a sharp increase in deadly shootings and bomb attacks […] The post Friday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to M. Europe aspires to be rich like the USA and ... by bazza In reply to M. Cheeky. by bazza In reply to Anti-Gnostic. “In sum, democracy is killing ... by bazza In reply to M. And there will be no externalities. by Reason In reply to M. During an election year? Ha. They will ... by Reason Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

Here is Ayn Rand on the antitrust laws: Under the Antitrust laws, a man becomes a criminal from the moment he goes into business, no matter what he does. For instance, if he charges prices which some bureaucrats judge as too high, he can be prosecuted for monopoly or for a successful “intent to monopolize”; […] The post Ayn Rand on the Antitrust Laws appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to WCR. Shouldn't small businesses and low-income ... by Your Husband's Cane In reply to Slocum. Not really, I was asking Alex to do it ... by Bad faith much Alex? In reply to blue jay. You are denying they use MFN clauses? ... by Bad faith much Alex? In reply to Rahul. Ok, my company… Nile… is below your ... by aaron They have. Hopefully higher education is next. ... by enghey Plus 10 more... Related Stories Patents, Intellectual Property and the Rise of the Rent Seeking Society They are solving for the equilibrium Tail risk in production networks  ( 7 min )

Here are the paper highlights: Women in same-sex couples commute longer to their workplace and work more hours than women in different-sex couples. Men in same-sex couples instead exhibit shorter commutes and work fewer hours than men in different-sex couples. These disparities are larger among married couples with children. Within-couple gaps in commuting time are also significantly smaller in same-sex couples. These differences […] The post Women in same-sex couples commute longer than women in different-sex couples appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Climacus. How could they conclude otherwise and ... by JK Brown In reply to Climacus. Haven't ready the study, but my first ... by sierra In reply to Luka. Why do seculars get married at all? I know ... by Student In reply to M. Commute time would edge it for men I reckon, ... by M In reply to TMC. OECD reckons for the US it is higher for ... by M Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

That is the first sentence of their abstract, here is the rest: To explain this puzzling phenomenon, we develop a theory linking internal migration, localized social institutions (e.g., family and friend networks), and voters’ preferences for social insurance. We start with the observation that social ties provide insurance against adverse life events, such as job […] The post Why have economically declining regions turned toward right-wing parties? appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Hm. it's mostly coming from China, not Mexico. ... by Hazel Meade In reply to EdR. Here's the thing though. Is it really a wise ... by Hazel Meade In reply to stubydoo. Well actually.. yes. According to this ... by JSK In reply to MCO3. Ous sophisticates are very sophisticated ... by EdR In reply to Bill Allen. My concern about California is that ... by TWBC Plus 10 more... Related Stories Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue *Selective Breeding and the Birth of Philosophy* The Rise of and Demand for Identity-Oriented Media Coverage  ( 7 min )

Science and scholarship are global. If you want to find out the truth about the universe, you’ll have to employ the people best at figuring out that truth, regardless of where they come from. Research shuffles people around, driving them together to collaborate and apart to share their expertise. (If you don’t care about figuring […]  ( 12 min )

In campus talk, Daron Acemoglu offers vision of “machine usefulness,” rather than autonomous “intelligence,” to help workers and spread prosperity.  ( 11 min )

The prior Paul Campos posted something on the ages of the expected major-party candidates for next year’s presidential election: Joe Biden is old. Donald Trump is also old. A legitimate concern about old people in important positions is that they … Continue reading →  ( 28 min )

The tradition they now represent has centered its chief inquiries around the two humble questions, “What do you mean?” and “How do you know?” Herbert Feigl, “Logical Empiricism” Christian Frankel sent me this quote the other day knowing it would remind me of Wayne Booth’s mythical Oxford tutorials. As a statement of the underlying attitude … Continue reading Two Humble Questions →  ( 5 min )

You decided you want to build a Shiny dashboard to bring your data to a specific set of users. In your mind, this dashboard will be a crucial tool to help them solve their problems. However, you are afraid that it might be left unused. How can you build a ... Continue reading: User-Centric Dashboards: 9 Best Practices for Effective Shiny Dashboards

Introduction Continue reading: Plotting Decision Trees in R with rpart and rpart.plot  ( 7 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Reveal the stories behind those Likert-type data  ( 11 min )

Now for something completely different than our usual programming: today I’m Continue reading: ZSA Voyager review  ( 24 min )

I’ve been attending posit::conf since 2019 (when it was still called rstudio::conf), and this year was no different. I really like the keynotes, talks, the community, meeting like minded data science, and R/Python enthusiasts. In this blog post we’l... Continue reading: Insights from Posit::conf(2023)  ( 9 min )

Straight from my sticky note, three functions that I like a lot, despite their not being new at all… But maybe new to some of you? Continue reading: 3 R functions that I enjoy  ( 6 min )

Intro Intro Continue reading: Mastering the Many Models Approach  ( 63 min )

In “Explaining Life Through Evolution,” Prosanta Chakrabarty invokes the legacy of Charles Darwin’s to explain the fundamentals of evolutionary theory and its vital role in the history of science, and why its central ideas are more important to understand today than at any point in our history.  ( 14 min )

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There’s only two weeks left to go until Shiny in Production 2023! The events team are hard at work getting things ready for the day, and we wanted to take this opportunity to say a huge than... Continue reading: Shiny in Production: Sponsors  ( 6 min )

Recently, I was tasked with setting up telemetry for various demo applications here at Appsilon and building a dashboard to monitor the generated telemetry data. Being a performance enthusiast, I aimed for optimal performance, including fast database writes and quick retrieval of aggregated data. In this blog post, I will ... Continue reading: Making The Most Out of {shiny.telemetry} Using PostgreSQL & Timescale

What if you could 100X your coding productivity? Well you can with ChatGPT. One of the areas I’m most excited about is speeding up the development process of R Shiny web apps. And in this tutorial I’m going to show you how I built an app in 10 minutes... Continue reading: ChatGPT: Made this Shiny App in 10 Minutes  ( 9 min )

Join our workshop on Network Analysis with R, which is a part of our workshops for Ukraine series!  Here’s some more info:  Title: Network Analysis with R Date: Thursday, October 26th, 18:00 – 20:00 CEST (Rome, Berlin, Paris timezone) Speaker: David Schoch is the team lead for “Transparent Social Analytics” in the ... Continue reading: Network Analysis with R workshop  ( 7 min )

Introduction Continue reading: How to Reorder Boxplots in R: A Comprehensive Guide  ( 8 min )

The 9th episode of the 2nd Season of Ted Lasso is an episode called “Beard After Hours” which I found to be a pretty bad episode on a pretty good show. I wondered whether others found this to be an unexpectedly bad episode of TV or if it was just ... Continue reading: The Most Unexpectedly Good and Bad TV Episodes

The present script can be used to pre-process data from a frequency list of the Norwegian as Web Corpus (NoWaC). Continue reading: Preprocessing the Norwegian Web as Corpus (NoWaC) in R  ( 5 min )

I learned a great deal throughout this journey. In the second part, I gained knowledge about implementing logistic regression in Stan. I also learned the significance of data type declarations for obtaining accurate estimates, how to use posterior to ... Continue reading: An Educational Stroll With Stan – Part 2  ( 10 min )

On the plane back from Vancouver, I read Bertrand’s Paradox Resolution and Its Implications for the Bing–Fisher Problem by Richard A. Chechile [who had pointed out his paper to me] In this paper, Chechile considers the Bayesian connections/sequences of Betrand’s paradox, as he sees it Bertrand’s different solutions/paradox to be “designed to illustrate his dissatisfaction […]  ( 7 min )

On the plane back from Vancouver, I read Bertrand’s Paradox Resolution and Its Implications for the Bing–Fisher Problem by Richard A. Chechile [who had pointed out his paper to me] In this paper, Chechile considers the Bayesian connections/sequences of Betrand’s paradox, as he sees it Bertrand’s different solutions/paradox to be “designed to illustrate his dissatisfaction […]  ( 7 min )

Visit the post for more.  ( 6 min )

The editor in chief, managing editors, and entire editorial board of a mathematics journal all resigned earlier this year following a dispute with their publisher over special issues and article volume.  Changes the publisher wanted to make to the journal “would have the effect of jeopardizing scientific integrity for the sake of financial gain,” the … Continue reading After resigning en masse, math journal editors launch new publication  ( 11 min )

The niceties and narcissism of a business network Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Your stories are diamonds but if you treat them as stones no one would read them.  ( 22 min )

77 lectures on applied category theory, for your reading pleasure.  ( 3 min )

77 lectures on applied category theory, for your reading pleasure.  ( 3 min )

Want to learn applied category theory? You can now read my lectures here: • Lectures on applied category theory There are a lot of them, but each one is bite-sized and basically covers just one idea. They’re self-contained, but you can also read them along with Fong and Spivak’s free book to get two outlooks […]  ( 8 min )

Want to learn applied category theory? You can now read my lectures here: • Lectures on applied category theory There are a lot of them, but each one is bite-sized and basically covers just one idea. They’re self-contained, but you can also read them along with Fong and Spivak’s free book to get two outlooks […]  ( 8 min )

Whether you're in the mood for a humble bowl of rice and beans or a more decadent French cassoulet, these 16 bean recipes have you covered.  ( 14 min )

Half the size of half-sheet pans, quarter sheet pans easily fit in a toaster oven and are useful for roasting, baking, mise en place, and more.  ( 15 min )

Pantrucas (Chilean Noodle Soup) is a comforting soup served piping hot and consisting of beef broth, fresh eggless noodles, and a balanced medley of spices and vegetables.  ( 22 min )

Plus: Delta Air Lines rethinking loyalty program changes; a school bus driver hits a bicyclist on Interstate 35E; remembering Minneapolis design pioneers Miranda Moss and Peter Seitz; and more.  ( 6 min )

MinnPost is seeking an Associate Editor.  ( 6 min )

City Council members hope officials can enforce the ban without issuing a slew of tickets, but opponents are worried that people of color will be disproportionately targeted.  ( 13 min )

With municipal elections this November, we asked what issues are of greatest interest and concern to our readers. Here are the (unscientific) results.  ( 10 min )

Plus: mssv at the Turf Club; Kassa Overall at Icehouse; and a conversation with artist Bobby Wilson  ( 16 min )

Klobuchar has introduced the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the distribution of materially deceptive AI-generated audio, images, or video relating to federal candidates in political ads or fundraising efforts.  ( 13 min )

Minnesota and the U.S. as a whole could learn from Canada and other countries that have leaned into nuclear power in the transition away from fossil fuels.  ( 20 min )

Head Coach Chris Finch offers a spirited pushback on whether or not the Rudy Gobert trade was the best thing.  ( 26 min )

In theater, film, television and online streaming, numerous no-shows or unseen characters are central to the plot of the stories being told. This "Great Pumpkin Effect" works in politics, too.  ( 13 min )

Plus: Emme Krumbee's orchard closed after more than four decades; Winona dubbed the 'Miami of Minnesota'; Minnesota murder suspect arrested after accidental release from Indiana jail; and more.  ( 6 min )

Thousands pass through the United Nations Plaza, a pedestrian mall adjacent to San Francisco’s commanding Beaux-Arts City Hall, each day. It’s a gateway to the city’s Civic Center and an access point for multiple forms of public transportation. For over 40 years, it even hosted one of the city’s largest farmers markets. But beneath the paving stones lies a secret. Beginning in 1850, when this now central corridor was then at the city’s westernmost edge, an estimated 7,000 to 9,000 bodies were buried in the sandy soil here. With the city’s population heaving with Gold Rush-driven newcomers, it took just eight years to fill the cemetery known as Yerba Buena. After Yerba Buena Cemetery stopped accepting new residents in 1858, the cemetery quickly fell into disuse. Body harvesting (for med…  ( 22 min )

The Helsinki Metro's Kamppi metro station bears more than a passing resemblance to an enormous cave. This similarity is only bolstered by a prominent art installation that has been located on the station platform since 2013, featuring hundreds of signs pointing to the birthplaces of current Helsinki residents, which loom from above and form crystal-like stalactite structures. The signs are the creation of artist Otto Karvonen, who was commissioned by the Helsinki Art Museum to create the piece. Spanning six continents and more than half of the world's countries, "Roots of the City" prominently features many obscure towns that may be totally unfamiliar to most viewers. In this way, it emphasizes the diverse and cosmopolitan population of Finland's capital city, and by extension, the welcoming place that Finland as a whole has become in the twenty-first century.  ( 13 min )

In the first half of the 19th century, French naturalist (and contemporary of Charles Darwin) Alcide D'Orbigny traveled throughout South America collecting specimens. One of the places he stopped in was Cochabamba, Bolivia. In a quiet, walled-off compound on the city's arterial Avenida América stands the Natural History Museum Alcide D'Orbigny, which houses a collection of remains both recent and ancient from across the country. Past the fossils and taxidermied fauna, is a living resident who represents a remarkable struggle for survival. His name is Romeo, and for a time he was the last known Sehuencas water frog. Thanks to the efforts of the K'ayra Center, which is headquartered at the museum, global attention was drawn to Romeo's plight as the world's loneliest frog. But an expedition in 2019 uncovered several more individuals of Romeo's species, including his aptly-named partner, Juliet. The pair now live in the excellent care of K'ayra's committed conservationists.  ( 13 min )

The Kennedy Gold Mine is a reminder of how the discovery of this precious metal transformed the American Wet. It also happens to be one of the deepest mines in the world. There are surface tours, so visitors can see the old building, the big wheels from the tailings, and the huge head frame. Like so much of the area, the mine is allegedly haunted and there are paranormal tours done through out the year.  ( 13 min )

Approximately 40 kilometers north of the city of León, the course of the Torío River leads to Vegacervera, a small and beautiful village. At the exit of the village, we find Las Hoces, where fluvial erosion of the limestone rock has given rise to a gorge with large vertical walls, some of which are over 100 meters high. Las Hoces de Vegacervera makes up one of the most remarkable natural spaces in Spain, the result of the patient fight of water against rock. The narrow valley stretches just 15 meters wide in some places. It's part of a landscape of incomparable beauty, in which beech, oak, and juniper forests survive. At the bottom of the valley, the water dazzles us with its musical flow, between willows and poplars. At the end of the gorge, a steep road leads us to Valporquero, where the entrance to a cave is located. Cueva de Valporquero is one of the youngest caves in the Iberian Peninsula, at just a million years old. (In geological time, that's quite youthful.) It seems incredible that the cold stream that accompanies us from the entrance has forged during this time the impressive formations that turn this space into a true underground cathedral. Paths, bridges, and stairs lead between stalactites, stalagmites, deep chasms, enormous columns, and huge cavities. The usual route takes us through various spaces with evocative names: the great roundabout, the small wonders, the fairies room, the stalactite cemetery, the high street, the solitary column, the great wonders. In spring, when the stream is loaded with snowmelt from the surrounding mountains, the noise of the water currents and the waterfalls make the cave an even more fascinating place.  ( 14 min )

"In Dietzenbach, a devil sits under a roof" is a local saying that stemmed from a carving of a devil in an old wooden house. After a bombing in 1941, the carving was destroyed, but the saying remained, which led to the creation of this controversial statue in its honor.  ( 12 min )

The town of Sag Harbor, New York, located on Long Island’s South Fork, may at first glance seem like a natural fit for arthouse theaters to thrive. However, its only independent cinema was preserved not only from the economic downturn facing movie theaters, but also from the effects of a devastating fire. A former whaling village, Sag Harbor has always had a more bohemian reputation than the nearby Hamptons, with more year-round residents including writers, artists, and movie-makers, and the theater has been part of the progression. Opening first as a vaudeville house, the theater showed its first movie on November 1, 1919. In 1936, the cinema was remodeled by famed architect John Eberson, at which point it received its distinctive Art Deco look, with a white facade and neon lettering reading “Sag Harbor” that would soon become a town landmark. By the 2000s, Sag Harbor Cinema was the only arthouse cinema on the East End, and plans were readied for its long-term preservation. However, on December 16, 2016, a fire that had started at a nearby café reached the theater, severely damaging it and destroying much of the iconic exterior. The theater itself had survived, but its future was uncertain. The theater saw an outpouring of support from volunteers and donations led by the non-profit organization that became its new owners. The neon sign (a replica of the original) was badly damaged in the fire but was salvaged and later repaired for free by local volunteers. The theater, which had been a single screen for its entire history, was rebuilt as a triplex, with many of the historic details either salvaged or replicated from the original theater. With the neon once again abuzz, the theater reopened to the public in June of 2021.  ( 14 min )

The Swedish village of Falsterbo is known for the Falsterbo Horse Show, golf courses, beaches, and much more. But there is at least one place in the village that is not so "known" among visitors, but very familiar to locals: the Shoemaker's Pear Tree. To the visitor, the place appears to consist of a lawn that is used to park cars on, and a collection of pear trees behind a fence, but not all is what it seems. This is a very special place. This is the home of the trolls, or Vättarna in Swedish. According to the saying from the olden days, the trolls live under the pear trees, in tunnels under the ground. They prefer to dress in gray, they can make themselves invisible when they want to and don't want to be disturbed. The pear trees were a gift from the residents of Falsterbo to the trolls. By gifting the pear trees to the trolls, they got a home of their own and stopped the trolls from entering people's houses at night and making a mess.  The trolls are skilled craftsmen and it is said that if you leave your broken shoes under a pear tree after dark, along with a bowl of porridge, you can return there at sunrise and get your mended shoes. An old local legend says that if a woman goes to the place barefoot after dark, picks a pear, and eats it on the spot in complete silence, she will dream of her future husband within three days. The place is by law an ancient monument and it is forbidden to take cuttings or the like from the pear trees, but it is allowed to pick the pears. For those of you who walk in broken shoes, consider a visit!  ( 13 min )

Originally owned by machinist John Walker, this massive factory located on what was once known as Waverly Ave in Cleveland, Ohio, housed the Walker Manufacturing Corporation. The company manufactured a vast amount of heavy machinery varying from hydraulic shears and hydraulic riveters to cable railroad machinery and foundry equipment. In 1894, Walker was in the midst of a patent-infringement lawsuit, which was filed by the owner and founder of Westinghouse Electric, George Westinghouse. Four years later, in 1898, Walker lost the court battle, forcing him to surrender his manufacturing plant, worth $1 million at the time, to Westinghouse. Westinghouse, a skilled engineer and entrepreneur, went on to become a pioneer of the electric industry. Once he became the rightful owner of the plant, Westinghouse wasted no time establishing a thriving business in Cleveland producing aluminum and brass castings with production later expanding to a variety of lights, including those used at airports and along highways. Cycling through a number of names, Westinghouse Electric had become Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, which was later renamed and remained, Westinghouse Electric Corporation. After World War II, the multipurpose engineering firm grew its service and sales departments. The large manufacturing facility on Waverly was closed as operations were relocated to the greater Cleveland area. By 1994, Cleveland Westinghouse facilities were purchased by Eaton Corporation for $1.6 billion, with plans to convert the factory into other commercial enterprises. Nearly 30 years later, the factory still sits abandoned as it slowly falls apart with no plans of development in the foreseeable future.  ( 13 min )

Canada is pushing the United States and other major economies to follow through on pledges to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies, which have soared despite the growing threat of climate change. Such subsidies hit records last year, according to several watchdog groups, including one that estimated that major world economies — members of the […] The post They are solving for the equilibrium appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to DJ. Roads are a public good that benefit every ... by ThatsNotAll Draining the SPR to keep petroleum prices low is a massive ... by ThatsNotAll In reply to DJ. Presumably the gas tax will drop, not rise, ... by Anon In reply to John Hall. Right, or they just don't understand ... by Ira Gilligan In reply to Etalon d’Silomar. That's, in part, why we have ... by EdR Plus 10 more... Related Stories What should I ask Patrick McKenzie? Tail risk in production networks Dynamic Graphs in Modern Principles  ( 6 min )

1. Presale link for the new Coleman Hughes book. 2. The Fish and Wildlife Service constraint on SpaceX. 3. “Proprietor Israel Mizrahi is quite familiar with the shocked look on your face.” 4. Branko here is speaking more truth than he realizes.  He is just on the wrong side. 5. Meta to launch new Chatbots.  […] The post Thursday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to M. Another way of putting it; in subsequent ... by M In reply to Gridlock. Posted in the wrong spot. S/B in ... by Gridlock In reply to Lord Action. Oh boy. You should go read Dan's ... by Gridlock Oh boy. You should go read Dan's comment above. SpaceX is not ... by Gridlock In reply to Wondering. > evidence was “insufficient” for ... by PHinton Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

This paper describes the response of the economy to large shocks in a nonlinear production network. A sector’s tail centrality, measures how a large negative shock transmits to GDP – i.e. the systemic risk of the sector. Tail centrality is theoretically and empirically very different from local centrality measures such as sales share – in […] The post Tail risk in production networks appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Heh-heh. He said “tail.” by Tom T. In reply to dearieme. Agree on usage. In most disciplines. ... by PHinton Whenever I see an expression such as “a nonlinear production ... by dearieme Related Stories Dynamic Graphs in Modern Principles Patents, Intellectual Property and the Rise of the Rent Seeking Society What should I ask Patrick McKenzie?  ( 7 min )

Achieve is the excellent course management system for our textbook, Modern Principles. With Achieve, teachers can assign videos, homework, exercises and so forth. One advantage of online education is that students can engage with interactive exercises that give them immediate feedback. Achieve also includes an electronic version of Modern Principles and all the graphs are […] The post Dynamic Graphs in Modern Principles appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Looking at the content of the graph, it's like Argentina is on ... by John In reply to dan1111. The successes of Japan and South Korea ... by Todd K In reply to Alex Tabarrok. I'd say a log graph is better. ... by Todd K In reply to Alex Tabarrok. Okay now plot Elrond coin prices: ... by Karl Pooper In reply to Jeffrey. Devices of that kind are the true ... by skyzyks Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Productivity of Online Education Increases From my email, I will read this book Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue  ( 6 min )

From a new NBER working paper: Infrastructure costs in the United States are high and rising. The procurement process is one potential cost driver. In this paper we conduct a survey of procurement practices across the 50 states. We survey both employees at each state department of transportation (DOT) and the road builders that win […] The post Procurement and infrastructure costs appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments A simple 10 mile long, 2' thick overlay requires about 15,000 ... by SP In reply to Dino the Isaurian. That's the whole point. ... by gjk I read the paper (quickly) with an eye towards the competitor ... by Old Primate In reply to Ricardo. Ah, no privately-owned madrasas etc for ... by M In reply to TomWinTejas. I feel the exact opposite. by OutHere Plus 10 more...  ( 7 min )

I won’t double indent, here is the email: ““Whatever It Is, I’m Against It,” Resistance to Change in Higher Education (Harvard Education Press; September 26, 2023; Price: $38.00), is a relentlessly frank look at higher education from the perspective of a long-time college president, dean, and faculty member.     Rosenberg attempts, in this book, to answer a […] The post From my email, I will read this book appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to gjk. Yes, ROTC is still a big deal at a lot of ... by anonprof In reply to Sure. You are overstating your case. I'm not ... by anonprof Why should we be surprised that school instructors are so ... by Jim Dunning In reply to Sure. The US is not really what I was necessarily ... by M But see: ... by F. E. Guerra-Pujol Plus 10 more... Related Stories Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue Emergent Ventures winners, 29th cohort The Productivity of Online Education Increases  ( 7 min )

Fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS are ubiquitous in the environment and have been found to increase the risk of certain cancers and other conditions. A document analysis shows that PFAS manufacturers knew for decades about the chemicals’ toxicity but kept promoting them to the public.  ( 13 min )

Also T+1 settlement, private investigators and a Cash Flow King.  ( 2 min )

A new simulation shows black holes ripping apart and consuming their accretion disk in a matter of months, which may explain why some quasars quickly brighten and dim

Scientists are trying to master the basic computing element known as a qubit to make quantum computers more powerful than electronic machines

Puerto Rico will be hit hardest by spending restrictions set by FEMA as disaster funding runs short. More than $2 billion is expected to be withheld from the island, which is still reeling from past hurricanes

Sarah Loguen Fraser was the daughter of abolitionists and one of the first African American female doctors trained after the Civil War.

Climate change is making heat waves stronger and longer. Naming and ranking them like we do with hurricanes will make governments, companies and people take hot days more seriously

A new book argues that genomics is overshadowing environmental and social solutions to better health for all

Pioneering scholar Riane Eisler describes her lifelong quest to understand why warlike societies are the norm

A botched obituary underlines threats from both artificial intelligence and digital plagiarism mills to pollute the news with misinformation

With three degrees Celsius of warming, U.S. deaths during extreme temperatures could reach 63,000 a year, researchers calculate

Biden’s new program is expected to hire 20,000 people in its first year for renewable energy projects and ecological restoration

The butterflies, and gas, in your tummy while you’re in flight might not just be from nerves

Scientists have uncovered an ancient trilobite’s last meal preserved inside a nearly intact fossil

Mastodon follows to RSS / OPML (add’l. info.) 📌 “Takes a CSV of accounts you follow on Mastodon and turns it into a list of blogs and RSS feeds” Cheetah 📌 “...simplifies the process of setting up and running virtual environments, empowering you to accomplish more with your Mac” How People with Disabilities Use the Web 📌 “How do people who cannot move their arms use your website? What about people who cannot see well or at all? Or people who have difficulty hearing or understanding, or have other disabilities?” tuifeed 📌 “📰 A terminal feed reader with a fancy ui” Why are hyperlinks blue? 📌 “...a deep dive into the history of interfaces and link designs over the years to track down the origin of the blue link we know today”  ( 2 min )

Our plan was to go to Cleveland because that’s conveniently located not too far from various family members, but then someone said that the weather there in April is not so great, and it’s not so fun seeing an eclipse … Continue reading →  ( 13 min )

Not Chinese.  Do you understand? This has long been a cabbage of contention, but make no mistake about it:  fermented kimchee / kimchi  (gimchi 김치 (IPA [kim.tɕʰi]) (lit., "soaked [in their own juices of fermentation] vegetables") is not the same thing as pickled paocai / pao tsai 泡菜 (lit., "soaked [in brine] vegetables"). Kimchee and […]  ( 14 min )

“To know anything in space (for instance, a line), I must draw it…”Immanuel Kant Why should you have a philosophy of science? It’s not just students who find it inconvenient to have to declare their epistemological and ontological assumptions, to decide whether they’re positivists or postmodernists, or gauge the depth of their realism or constructivism. … Continue reading The Conditions Under Which the Objects of Human Knowledge Are Given →  ( 6 min )

...

Team Ratings for Week 9 The basic method is described on my Department home page. Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season. Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference Wellington 13.22 8.72 4.50 Canterbury 7.14 9.44 -2.30 North Harbour 5.27 7.75 -2.50 […] Bunnings NPC Predictions for Week 9 first appeared on Stats Chat.  ( 4 min )

Now that the invited sessions have been selected by the scientific committee of ISBA²⁴ (with both sessions in which I am involved, Bayesian data privacy and The future of ISBA conferences, accepted), the call is open for contributed talks, with deadline 17 November. (If  this helps in making a proposal, childcare will be available during […]  ( 7 min )

Now that the invited sessions have been selected by the scientific committee of ISBA²⁴ (with both sessions in which I am involved, Bayesian data privacy and The future of ISBA conferences, accepted), the call is open for contributed talks, with deadline 17 November. (If  this helps in making a proposal, childcare will be available during […]  ( 7 min )

I experimented with writing a different type of poetry Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 7 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

From real-life doctor to Hollywood writers’ room, the writer found a way to marry her greatest passions — saving lives and storytelling Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Close to the border between Yokohama and the historic city of Kamakura lies an esoteric network of tunnels and vaulted chambers adorned with Buddhist reliefs. Commonly referred to as the Taya Caves, the Yugadō ("yoga grotto") of Jōsen-ji Temple is a fascinating mystery, rich in history and ambiance. Believed to be the site of an ancient burial cave, the Yugadō predates the temple itself, whose origin can be traced back to 1532. The tunnels were dug in the early Kamakura period (circa 1185-1333) and used as a place for ascetic training by Buddhist monks of the esoteric Mantra Sect. Many of the mystical reliefs were carved by the monks as they meditated and prayed to reach enlightenment. Decorating the high vaults and the sandstone walls of the narrow passages are images of Buddhist deities, mythological creatures, and Sanskrit characters, some crumbling but otherwise preserved in good condition. When an earthquake hit the area at some point in the Edo period (1603-1868), some of the vaulted ceilings collapsed and the Taya Caves lay deserted for many decades, until local villagers started to draw the spring water from them for their rice paddies around 1830. Inspired, the monks also resumed their ascetic practice in the spiritual confinement. The spring water, locally known as the Otonashi-gawa (“soundless river”), runs throughout the intricate web of caves and cascades down some of the walls. In the sacred chamber dedicated to the stone effigy of the great monk Kūkai, the serene flow is given the name of the Diamond Water, rich in healing and wish-granting properties. Since 1927, the grottoes have been open to the public, and the monks also continue their practice of asceticism in this esoteric dungeon to this day. Carrying a candle in hand, visitors can explore the ancient tunnels and the chambers, each of which stands in for a major sacred site across Japan; by the time you exit, you’ll have completed a good old Buddhist pilgrimage and cleansed your soul and body.  ( 14 min )

From a modern wristwatch to an antique timepiece, the sound of a clock ticking is one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable in the world. Inside the Willard House and Clock Museum, the sound of time passing is continuous and comprised of a chorus of historical clocks some of which have been functioning almost non-stop for over 200 years.  Located within a rural and picturesque area of Grafton, Massachusetts, the museum is housed within an old red farm homestead originally built in 1718. It was here that the Willard brothers Benjamin, Simon, Ephraim, and Aaron dedicated their lives to both farming and clockmaking. Out of all the brothers, Simon became the most famous being the inventor of the eight-day patent timepiece which later came to be known as the banjo clock, and for also …  ( 14 min )

Here you can see almost every species of rattlesnake in the United States, including a few from Mexico. Along with a few local insects, arachnids, skinks, and even Gila monsters. Jeffery Ross, known as "Buzz," had a lifelong love of reptiles and big dreams to match. As the former supervisor of the reptile house at the Fort Worth Zoo, Buzz had a yearning to move out to West Texas in the Davis mountains. He moved to Fort Davis and went into taxidermy with a partner. After he bought his partner out, the business, shop, and a parcel of land were his. The property has a long history. His shop had been a market and general store. Behind it is an adobe-and-rock motel, used during the days of horse-drawn wagons, that closed in 1953. In between the two, there was even a 1,400-square-foot house, which became handy for keeping a few extra snakes. Ross had long dreamed of opening a rattlesnake museum. He already had the snakes, most of which he caught himself, so one mad day in April 2000, Ross rashly cashed in his investments and began renovating the taxidermy shop and started working on snake displays, with the help of a friend named Scott Tepes. He started with four snakes—today there are over 30. The Houston Chronicle once described it as "the funkiest roadside attraction west of the Pecos." Sadly, Ross passed away in May 2018. He passed the museum on to his longtime friend Scott Tepes, a snake expert in his own right. Given Ross's eclectic nature, Tepes had a lot of work to do cleaning things up. Over 50 vehicles have been removed from the property and the old motel in the back is even getting cleaned up. Although Tepes would prefer to call it the Fort Davis Rattlesnake Museum, however, that might take a new sign since the mural on the building has become quite beloved.  ( 14 min )

While in everyday life we do not use it much directly, it is crucial to know the elevation of a place to properly build and construct. For most of the world, this is based on the Amsterdam Ordinance Datum. Before this standard was put in place, each country had its own datum, off of which they could base measurements of elevation, like Sweden's Normalhöjdpunkten. Switzerland is no different, but because the landlocked country did not have access to the sea, they based their measure on a seemingly random stone in Lake Geneva. The Pierres du Niton (Neptune's Stones) are a pair of glacial erratics, rocks transported by the movement of a glacier. The stones in Geneva harbor were left behind as the Rhône glacier moved across this landscape in the last ice age. The reference point of the Swiss altimeter system was defined at the Pierres du Niton in the early 19th century. Later measurements, determined by a large web of connected points between Geneva and Marseille, France, put the Pierres du Niton marker's elevation at precisely 373.6 meters above sea level. The stone was picked primarily because of its proximity to the French border and a location that was unlikely to be disturbed by construction or other human activity.  ( 13 min )

In the woods outside of Rock Hill, South Carolina, stand the crumbling ruins of a once-grand house. Just a few years after it was completed its owner, Hamilton Carhartt, was killed in an automobile accident in 1937. The founder of the Carhartt clothing company lived in Michigan, but had a second home built in Rock Hill because Carhartt owned a large cotton mill in the town. The clothing company employed many of the townspeople in the early 1900s, though this was only one of several major mills that supported the town’s economy. After Carhartt died, the property was left vacant for a time. New owners came in and tried to restore the property and its grounds, but the site was eventually deserted. Now all that's left is the crumbling remains of the once-grand mansion. Today, Carhartt clothing is one of the most popular brands in America, though the company no longer has a presence in Rock Hill. This mansion now sits in ruins along the mountain bike trails of what is now the Riverwalk neighborhood. Numerous ruined structures can be freely explored by anyone willing to hike or bike to the location.  ( 13 min )

The Sucevița Monastery is a must-visit destination for anyone who loves history, art, and architecture. Sucevița (“The Church of the Resurrection”) is an Eastern Orthodox convent located in northeastern Romania. Founded in 1581 by Bishop Gheorghe Movila and expanded by Prince Ieremia, the monastery boasts a fortress-like appearance with high walls and defensive towers. According to a local legend, the stone used to build the monastery was transported in an ox-drawn cart by a single woman who was attempting to repent for her sins. The frescoes, painted by local artists in 1602-1604, are a sight to behold, with the Ladder to Paradise and the Tree of Jesse being the most impressive. The thick walls of the monastery now house a museum with an outstanding collection of historical and art objects, including the tomb covers of Ieremia and Simion Movila, ecclesiastical silverware, books, and illuminated manuscripts. Fun fact: Sucevita was the last of the 22 painted churches of Bucovina and has the largest number of painted images.  ( 13 min )

This limestone cave in central Texas was carved by a river that has long since dried up. Now known as Longhorn Cavern (because the wide mouth in its ceiling caused several unsuspecting longhorns to fall to their deaths), the subterranean site has been used by humans for thousands of years. There is evidence that parts of the cave were used to mine materials for arrowheads and other weapons and tools. During the Civil War, Texans mined the caverns for guano (bat poop), which could be used as an ingredient in gunpowder recipes. Legend has it that failed train robber and outlaw Sam Bass, who wreaked havoc on the nearby city of Round Rock in the 1870s, hid his stash of stolen cash in the caves, though it has never been found.  In the 1920s, the massive main room of the cavern served as a dance hall called the Underground Ballroom. In the 1960s, Longhorn Cavern became a licensed and stocked nuclear fallout shelter, capable of holding over 1,000 people and stocked with food, water, and other supplies.   Inside the cave, you can find a number of distinct formations. There's the Queen's Throne, which resembles an immense, high-backed chair. Standing nearby is a white stone formation that resembles a hound standing at attention. The formation was not carved but discovered by Civilian Conservation Corps workers in another part of the cave. It was moved to be near the throne, and given the nickname the Queen's Watchdog.  ( 13 min )

The Dutch national memorial for the victims of the Holocaust and the Porajmos commemorates the estimated 102,000 Jewish victims from across the Netherlands who were arrested by Nazis during the German occupation of the country. The monument also remembers the 220 Roma and Sinti victims. Visitors wander through corridors made out of red brick walls. Inscribed on each of these bricks are the alphabetically ordered names, dates of birth, and ages at death of a victim of the Holocaust. These victims were deported and killed in Auschwitz and Sobibor. On top of the brick walls, four stainless steel profiles are mounted in the shape of the four Hebrew characters forming the word לזכר, which means "in memory of." A separate section called the 1,000 Names Wall has purposely been left with 1,000 blank bricks to allow additional names to be added in case further victims are later identified.  ( 13 min )

In Juab County, Utah, there is a natural cave that rivals man-made architectural wonders. This limestone and feldspar cavern was once filled by Lake Bonneville. Since 1956, the Bates family has curated the attraction for the Federal government and offers guided tours from their nearby ranch. The story goes that the father of the family was out looking for his sheep in the hills and chanced upon a narrow opening in the rock. He uncovered a massive cavern that has, for years, sparked archaeological and geological debates as experts continue to study the cave. From prehistoric creatures to geological mysteries, visitors leave with a story that's millennia in the making. Minerals found in the cave range from common to rare. One mineral found in the cave, calcite iceland spar—also called "optical calcite"—is revered for its crystal clarity. Historically, it was used for various optical instruments, including the top secret Norden Bombsight of World War II. You can get an authentic ranch-lodging experience in the Bates' custom cabins, which offer a respite from the Utah sun in a shaded grove of crabapples and grand trees. This land has been in their family since pioneers settled the land.  Several miles from the ranch cabins is Gandy Warm Springs, which is publicly accessible via a gravel road. Clean, clear, and constantly 81 degrees, this oasis is the perfect place for a swim on a hot day or a soak in the cool evening twilight. Reeds and brush make the spring semi-private from the otherwise wide-open valley.  ( 14 min )

Just off the coast of Astoria, Queens, at the confluence of the Harlem and East Rivers, is a narrow tidal channel. Hell Gate. Its fast currents change multiple times a day and it used to be riddled with rocks just beneath the surface. Even today, visitors to Randall’s Island Park can see the swirling churn and watch pleasure boaters struggle through. American author Washington Irving wrote an essay about it: “Woe to the unlucky vessel that ventures into its clutches.” But many a vessel did venture into those clutches over the centuries. Traversing it could save sailors navigating between New York Harbor and Southern New England days of travel around Long Island. This expediency often came at a cost. Hell Gate is the final resting place of literally hundreds of ships. Most of them are for…  ( 35 min )

Atlas Obscura’s Wondersky columnist Rebecca Boyle is an award-winning science journalist and author of the upcoming Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are (January 2024, Random House). She regularly shares the stories and secrets of our wondrous night sky. For people in the Northern Hemisphere, time is running short to see the lavender haze of our home galaxy’s heart. We have just a few weeks of chances left before the Milky Way’s central area disappears from view, owing to Earth’s orbit around the sun. But for now, the galactic center is still apparent, especially in the next couple of weeks, as the Sept. 29 full moon—the final supermoon of 2023—wanes. If you are somewhere you can see the Milky Way at night, lucky you…  ( 19 min )

One of four "reaction ferries" that cross the Rhine in Basel, the Münster Ferry carries passengers between Grossbasel to Kleinbasel, relying on the current to do so. The ferries were once common along the Rhine between the 1600s and 1800s, before being gradually replaced by bridges. Now, the Basel ferries are the only ones that remain in operation on this river. The ferry is attached to a cable that joins the two riverbanks, and moves as the river current pushes against a rudder. The rudder is attached to a long bar, which the boat's driver swings to one side or the other depending on the direction of travel. The faster the current, the faster the trip--leaving your journey entirely up to the whims of the Rhine. So, sit back and enjoy the relative silence of motorless boat travel and take in one of the most unique views in the city of Münster Cathedral.  ( 13 min )

Deep within the JC Sonny Gilbert Wildlife Management Area stands Louisiana's tallest waterfall, a staggering 17-foot drop down a rock face surrounded by a thick hardwood forest covering the steep Sicily Island Hills. The short Rock Falls Trail is adequately marked, although there's not much of a trail to follow, down a hillside, then through lush woods.  The trailhead is on a gravel road about a mile or so further north.  ( 13 min )

The press is full of excitement today at the news that anti-matter — hydrogen anti-atoms, specifically, made from positrons and anti-protons instead of electrons and protons — falls down rather than rising up. This has been shown in the ALPHA experiment at CERN. But no theoretical physicist is surprised. Today I’ll explain one of many ... Read more  ( 13 min )

Personally, I think that popular science books ought to devote more pages to the issue of how language is used in science. The words scientists choose are central to communication and miscommunication both among researchers and between scientists and non-scientists. The problem is that all language is full of misnomers and contradictory definitions, and scientific ... Read more  ( 14 min )

My day started with a long and very fun conversation with Monica Pate (NYU) about conservation laws in classical physics. As we all know, conservation laws are related to symmetries; each symmetry of the laws of physics creates a conservation law. Or does it? Well, it's a theorem! But it's a theorem when the laws of physics are lagrangian (or hamiltonian). That is, every symmetry of a hamiltonian system is associated with a conservation law in that system. So I asked: How do we know if or whether the world is lagrangian or hamiltonian? How could we know that? My best guess is that we know it because of these very conservation laws! The situation is complex.  ( 14 min )

This July, I came upon a museum called the Haus der Musik in one of Vienna’s former palaces. The museum contains a room dedicated to Johann Strauss II, king of the waltz. The room, dimly lit, resembles a twilit gazebo. … Continue reading →  ( 12 min )

Two anthropology organizations co-hosting a conference this fall have removed from the program a panel presentation entitled “Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby: Why biological sex remains a necessary analytic category in anthropology.”  The panel had been slated for the joint annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA), to be … Continue reading Anthropology groups cancel conference panel on why biological sex is “necessary” for research  ( 10 min )

The iconic sci-fi opera “VALIS,” first composed by Professor Tod Machover in 1987, reboots at MIT for a new generation.  ( 11 min )

Inspired by physics, a new generative model PFGM++ outperforms diffusion models in image generation.  ( 10 min )

Sopaipillas (Chilean Fried Pastries) be served two ways: soaked in a spiced syrup for a comforting sweet treat, or served freshly fried and crispy with salsa.  ( 20 min )

In addition to being economical, homemade preserves and pickles can be the make-ahead element that takes your meals to the next level. Over the years we've amassed a wealth of shelf-stable canning recipes, from whole canned tomatoes to pickles, relishes, jams, and jellies.

Whether it’s a chic wine glass or an everyday tumbler, our resident glassware collector has a set of glasses for every occasion.  ( 22 min )

This is absolutely insane. TAMU was probably one of the most conservative flagship state universities in the nation https://t.co/z3yVLvoe7I — constans (@constans) September 25, 2023 The post Texas fact of the day, educational polarization issue appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to aaron. Obama was President 8 years ago, young ... by Ahh In reply to Matt2. >There are a whole lot of people who can ... by OldCurmudgeon In reply to Brent. Where do the people who work in college ... by Does anybody remember laughter? woke wednesday's new yorky times debunking objectivity award ... by community notes In reply to Joe Bush. Yet the sharpest shift was 2004-2008. I ... by anonprof Plus 10 more... Related Stories Patience and educational achievement The Rise of and Demand for Identity-Oriented Media Coverage Emergent Ventures winners, 29th cohort  ( 6 min )

1. Burkey Belser, RIP. 2. Why is multilateralism in the tax sphere surviving when multilateralism is collapsing elsewhere? 3. The U.S. effects of banning cousin marriage. 4. I am not convinced, but here is an argument that AI will lead to explosive rates of economic growth.  And a new AI hardware device? (this has been […] The post Wednesday assorted links appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments “5. We’ve finally mapped all of Zealandia.” ... by mkt42 In reply to Karl Pooper. Jordan Peterson has become a bit ... by LivelyClock In reply to Engineer. Yes, I am very bullish on AR. I ... by LivelyClock In reply to Michael Thomas. Or more succinctly. It's about ... by LivelyClock In reply to RAD. Apple Silicon is impressive, for sure. But ... by Michael Thomas Plus 10 more...  ( 6 min )

During the summer I had the opportunity to spend a week at a16z’s crypto lab in New York City where I gave a fun talk on intellectual property including patents and copyrights, the great stagnation, the diffusion of ideas, American economic dynamism and even some discussion of AI and copyright in the Q&A.  Check it […] The post Patents, Intellectual Property and the Rise of the Rent Seeking Society appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments Alex- how many bodyguards did you hire? I hope you disclaimed ... by Antony T. In reply to Marxism?. Haven't watched the video. I expect AT ... by bazza Best sentence I have heard today: “[Michelangelo] looks at ... by Brent Reform comments: The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ... by Brent In reply to Brent. You are obviously better at creating ... by Brent Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Zero Sum Idea Trap What should I ask Patrick McKenzie? It is the poor who are lonely (on average)  ( 6 min )

In the mid-1980s manufacturing accounted for a third of Brazil’s gdp; now it represents just 10%. The country’s surplus in manufacturing trade, $6bn in 2005, became a deficit of $108bn by 2019. Productivity in manufacturing and services has stagnated or shrunk. Here is more from The Economist, note that the hinterlands, such as Mato Grosso, […] The post Brazil facts of the day appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Phil S.. Brazil is now being depicted as a ... by Abelard Lindsey “The real problem is Brazil, not Brasilia.” You got the ... by Thad In reply to joan. You're missing 90% of the population. Look ... by Sean In reply to Jay. OK, thanks for the info/correction. FWIW, ... by Phil S. In reply to DF. Brazil made a deal with the devil (China). ... by EdR Plus 10 more...  ( 7 min )

Dan Rivera, South Carolina, FavorPiedmont, addiction recovery and treatment. Lukas Bogacz, Utrecht/South Africa, to start a company based on fine-tuning LLMs. Brian Wang, MIT, Panoplia Laboratories, for DNA-based pan-virus vaccine research. Gabriel Abrams, Washington, D.C., Sidwell (high school), LLMs and economic research. Chloe Chia, Berkeley, to pursue computational research about human behavior in dense cities. […] The post Emergent Ventures winners, 29th cohort appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION.         Comments In reply to Derek222. If my choices were Hitler or Stalin I'd ... by Anti-Gnostic In reply to Derek222. She's actually working on some ... by Richard Guo In reply to PHinton. Maybe they're implying (in a Straussian ... by OutHere In reply to Derek222. > Well. Not so much the SS Nazi who ... by PHinton In reply to OutHere. Not to say some of them aren't, but this ... by Anti-Gnostic Plus 10 more... Related Stories The Productivity of Online Education Increases School choice for North Carolina Patience and educational achievement  ( 7 min )

250 million years from now, the emergence of a new supercontinent could render most of Earth’s surface uninhabitable for mammals

Washington State’s Puget Sound could face previously unknown earthquake risks, according to a new study that has pinned down the date of an ancient earthquake using tree rings and the radiation left by a mysterious cosmic force

In theory, physicists knew that antimatter should behave just like matter under gravity’s pull. But until now, no one had ever seen it happen

Quantum algorithms can find their way out of mazes exponentially faster than classical ones, at the cost of forgetting the paths they took

How does bourbon, “America’s spirit,” get its distinctive taste and color?

This enormous structure could help explain processes close to the dawn of time—or it could be a random cosmic fluke

In 2014, a blind astronomer “sonified” the universe’s most explosive event: a gamma-ray burst. By listening to, rather than looking at, the data, she made a critical discovery and changed the field of astronomy.

The Y chromosome was once used to label people as criminal. A new complete Y chromosome sequence just might combat this dangerous myth

This is why we misinterpret life’s weird and wonderful random events

Newly purple streetlights might seem innocuous, but they could affect driver and pedestrian safety

The evolution of a chemical defense gland allowed the most diverse group of beetles to repel predators and go on to conquer wholly new environments

Plus: Minneapolis firefighters freed a man pinned under a train; Hennepin Theatre Trusts’ 2022-2023 Broadway season brings in $115 million; Pitchfork rates the “Tim” reissue a 10; and more.  ( 6 min )

By 2040, all of the state's power must come from carbon-free sources. Solar, hydro, and wind generation are being deployed at break-neck speed, but there's one black sheep in the carbon-free family: nuclear power.  ( 29 min )

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack warned this week that if the federal government shuts down, a nutrition program that helps low-income mothers and their children would end “immediately.”  ( 21 min )

MinnPost interviewed Matt Varilek on Monday about his views on the economy in Greater Minnesota, child care, broadband, South Dakota, fraud in grant programs and more.  ( 29 min )

Can Kyle Anderson be as valuable as he was last season; consistency from Anthony Edwards on defense and the role Naz Reid.  ( 24 min )

Thank you to our VIPs, sponsors, passholders, panelists and staff for making this event a success!  ( 12 min )

Too many medical providers get involved only after people are sick. They should be offering help when people are healthy and want to stay that way.  ( 11 min )

Plus: Tech workers in Duluth picketing for fair pay; seniors across the metro express frustration with Life Time's new policy for adults over 65; Granite Falls Mayor Dave Smiglewski dies at 70; and more.  ( 6 min )

Also Sculptor sweeteners, Binance troubles, late 13D filings and the end of the volcano bond.  ( 2 min )

An interesting recent paper — Lukas Berglund, Meg Tong, Max Kaufmann, Mikita Balesni, Asa Cooper Stickland, Tomasz Korbak, and Owain Evans,"The Reversal Curse: LLMs trained on 'A is B' fail to learn 'B is A'", arXiv.org 9/21/2023. The abstract: We expose a surprising failure of generalization in auto-regressive large language models (LLMs). If a model […]  ( 10 min )

After quoting Jamal Khashoggi from 2017: Let’s talk about something other than women driving. The NEOM project, the futuristic city that he (the crown prince) plans to invest half a trillion dollars in. What if it goes wrong? It could … Continue reading →  ( 14 min )

In the previous post, Part 1, I criticized claims of a so-called “epidemic of loneliness” in America. Those claims are based on misunderstanding loneliness–for example, confusing it with actual isolation, not appreciating that most loneliness is longing for a romantic partner, and muddling loneliness up with other sad emotions. Moreover, there is little evidence that […]  ( 22 min )

Mortgage rates have been the highest in the US over the last 20 years. Inventory shortage and high inflation have driven home prices up. I have analyzed this situation by taking FMCC as an indicator of the American housing market. I’ve examined the distribution of Freddie Mac(FMCC) before and ... Continue reading: Forecasting Freddie Mac with the DeepAR Algorithm  ( 5 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Enhancing Your Data Visualizations with Base R: Overlaying Points and Lines  ( 7 min )

In the following we show how it is possible to obtain parallelizable, unbiased and computationally cheap estimates of Crossed random effects models with a linear cost in the number of datapoints (and paramaters) exploiting couplings. Crossed random effects models (CREM) Continue reading: Linear-cost unbiased estimator for large crossed random effect models via couplings  ( 21 min )

Onze overheden en het internationale bedrijfsleven leggen steeds grotere databases over ons aan, op een schaal die we 20 jaar geleden nooit geaccepteerd zouden hebben. Eerder schreef ik in de Volkskrant hoe we dit vroeger automatisch verwerpelijk vonden, met name vanwege onze herinnering aan de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Deze herinnering leeft minder en minder, en ook “Oost-Duitsland” en de Stasi zijn verdwenen en geen afschrikwekkend voorbeeld meer. En we hebben toch niets te verbergen?  ( 4 min )

with apologies to Raymond Carver Ontology is, famously, the study of what there is. In philosophy, especially after Kant, this question has been approached by way of epistemology, so that we now ask what is there to know. As academic writers, it can be useful to distinguish the act of knowing from the facts we … Continue reading What We Talk About When We Know What We’re Talking About →  ( 7 min )

After Covid-19 left millions of people without a sense of smell, research on olfactory dysfunction gained rapid attention. But three years later, scientists are still fighting to show that smell matters. Meanwhile, people born with the condition say they are being left out of the research.  ( 16 min )

p. 93 2.7.6: You define the support of a section for sheaves of abelian groups, and then define the support of a sheaf for the more general scenario of sheaves of *sets*. Then you observe that the support of a sheaf can be characterized in terms of the supports of its sections, but this doesn't really make sense for sheaves of sets, because the notion of support of a section doesn't really extend to sheaves of sets. This characterization works for sheaves of abelian groups, but it's not until the next paragraph that you actually explain how to generalize the definition of support of a sheaf in terms of the initial object of the corresponding category. So some rearrangement would probably help here.  ( 14 min )

Some time, around the 1980s, philosophers of science turned their attention to scientific experiments in a way that contrasted with the reigning approaches to philosophy of science. My colleague, Wendy Parker, and I decided to embark on an experiment of our own, aimed at elucidating some central themes of this evolving movement, sometimes referred to […]  ( 16 min )

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This drive-in movie theater has been in operation since 1977, showing new releases on twin projector screens. The projection booth and concession stand were originally built as part of a nearby drive-in theater in 1943 and relocated after its closure. There is no formal street address and a dirt road entrance.  ( 12 min )

"The Bench of the Lovers" or "The Lampposts in Love," is located in the beautiful Valentino Park and and was created by the artist-gardener Rodolfo Marasciuolo, a municipal gardener.  Sitting on the bench with the lampposts, visitors can see the various wildlife around the park.  ( 12 min )

Former president Franklin Pierce once had a home here, but the building was destroyed during the 1980s.  After the death of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, an angry mob gathered here to demand an answer as to why Pierce was not flying an American flag in memoriam to the slain president.   There is a small granite marker detailing the significance of the site. All that is left of the home Pierce inhabited until his death in October of 1869, is two stone staircases to a vacant lot.  ( 13 min )

Almost unchanged since its completion in 1930, Kokudō Station is popular among enthusiasts of urban exploring areas outside of Tokyo, Japan, even though it remains in operation. Named after the Keihin Kokudō (today National Route 15), the station is served by Tsurumi Line and used by some 1,500 passengers daily. Getting off here, you'll find that the platforms are nothing unusual, but descend the steps into the dark, lonely concourse and walk into a world stuck in a different time. The arched corridor was once home to a lantern-lit shopping street, full of izakaya life, but the last of the underpass bars closed down in 2022. Today, the remains of the shops and eateries sit empty or have been boarded up. Some ghost signs have been left behind on the much-graffitied walls. The arcade has become a dusty ruin in a perpetual state of photogenic near-abandonment. At this murky tunnel's halfway, the underground corridor opens up into a narrow alleyway leading to the residential street outside. Only a few steps long, it's a jumbled-up confusion of veneer boards, corrugated plates, and bricks, plagued by a heavy layer of rust and vandalism here and there. Outside, up on the right-hand side of the western façade, you can also spot bullet holes left by the strafing gunfire from an Allied attack in 1945, a rare surviving example of World War II-era damage on the periphery of the Tokyo Metropolis. Unsurprisingly, the station boasts an eclectic filmography spanning decades, used as a location by a number of films and TV dramas. The most notable works are Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog (1949) and Hirokazu Kore-eda's Maborosi (1995).  ( 14 min )

Bridge Music is the work of composer Joseph Bertolozzi, who recorded sounds of bridge surfaces (including the suspension ropes, railings, girders, and conduit) being hit with various mallets. The resulting 11-track album contains no sounds outside of what was recorded using the Mid-Hudson Bridge itself, a Hudson Valley suspension bridge in Poughkeepsie, New York. (Bertolozzi was actually born in Poughkeepsie.) The audio installation is experienced from listening stations that house 12 buttons (one for each track of the album and an additional composition called "Suite Poughkeepsie") on the north-facing side of the bridge's two towers. Originally intended to be a live performance piece, the sound-art installation was completed in 2009 as part of New York's 400th-anniversary observance of Henry Hudson's voyage up the Hudson River.  ( 14 min )

In 2010, a bizarre sculpture was unveiled in the Mansour district of Baghdad, Iraq. Designed by renowned sculptor Mohammed Ghani Hikmat, it depicts a muscular giant supporting a Sumerian-style cylinder seal, which is broken at the base and toppling, using all his five arms. When deciphered, the cuneiform on the cylinder seal reads "writing began here" in reference to the Mesopotamian civilization's role in the development of writing systems. Commissioned by the mayor of Baghdad, it was part of the city's attempt to improve its long-tarnished image, to promote the richness of Iraqi culture and history.  ( 13 min )

Surrounded by the wide open plains of eastern South Dakota, locals from the tiny town of Clark gather every year in early August for a spud celebration. The “Potato Days” tradition has persevered since 1992, eventually featuring the Little Miss and Mister Tater Tot Pageant, potato decorating, and most famously, instant mashed potato wrestling. On a hot August day in 2019, photographer Sol Neelman stood on the sidelines—still somehow drenched in instant potatoes—grinning wildly. He remembers being particularly impressed by the high school spud wrestlers. “Generally you don't get that level of experience and athleticism in a mashed potato ring,” he says. Ending a work day covered head to toe in instant mashed potatoes may not seem like a win for everyone, but for this “weird sports photo…  ( 20 min )

Bent low beneath a canopy of leathery green leaves in the sweltering heat of a Calabrian summer, Michele Cirelli is searching for a perfect fruit. Weaving his wrist through the inch-long thorns of his citrus trees, he picks out a good one—deep green and waxy. He takes it, gently, by its plump middle, careful not to damage its precious stem, and turns it slightly, so I might see how the light bounces off the knobbly ridges at its top. “This, this is the type the rabbis want,” he explains. A single one of these fruits, carefully harvested, can fetch more than $300 by the time it arrives in a shop in New York or Montreal. Yet the fruit may never be eaten at all. This is the cedro Diamante, an ancient citrus better known to many as the citron or etrog—a fruit packed with symbolic and histo…  ( 24 min )

From the Shakers—a 19th-century bunch of dissenting Quakers who made a mean lemon pie—to the Source Family—a 1970s Californian hippie cult with a celebrity-favorite vegetarian restaurant—to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)—whose members abstain from alcohol but fully endorse indulging one’s sweet tooth—religious groups have been making their mark on American cuisine since the Pilgrims wandered onto Plymouth Rock. In her book, Holy Food: How Cults, Communes, and Religious Movements Influenced What We Eat — An American History, Christina Ward traces the way different belief systems have shaped our dietary preferences—whether we realize it or not. The Yogi Tea on supermarket shelves, for instance, is a product launched by Yogi Bhajan, a problematic, highly influential…  ( 25 min )

In Japanese, the word mahō means “magic” and typically refers to the Western concept of wizardry and witchcraft, as opposed to such words as majinai or jujutsu which are reserved for the more traditional, divination-or curse-based sorcery. So while the unusual name of Mahō Jinja in the city of Sōja translates to “magical shrine,” it is not actually a sanctum of sorcerers—though an atypical place of worship nonetheless. On a hilltop deep in the forest of Okayama Prefecture, a historic province known for its demon legends that inspired Japan’s most famous folk tale, the shrine sits all but forgotten, without even the torii arch or lion-dog statues found in most shrines. Mahō Shrine is dedicated to Mahō-sama, a local form of the legendary raccoon dog Kyūmō-danuki. Stowing away on a ship carrying Christian missionaries from the West, this demigod of ambiguous origin arrived in Japan in the late 16th century and settled down in the town not long after. Though the raccoon dog stole food from local shops to live off, he did not cause much trouble otherwise and promised the townsfolk he would protect their cattle and horses and forewarn them of fires and burglaries. In return, the townsfolk built the shrine to honor him. But how did he earn the epithet of “magic”? According to the historical texts in the local archives, this Mahō is a corruption of the name of a Buddhist goddess, Marici, with the hō “law, dharma” suffixed to it, unrelated to any magic.  ( 13 min )

On June 29, a local man was walking along the beach on the island of Khortytsia, in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, when he noticed what looked like a log half submerged in water. When he approached, he realized the log was part of a boat, one that was possibly centuries old. The man called wardens at the Khortytsia National Reserve, the large national park on the island. Soon the police arrived to cordon off the area, followed by engineers and archaeologists who started an operation to rescue the precious find. Less than a month earlier, an explosion had destroyed the Russian-controlled Kakhovka Dam, 125 miles downriver from Khortytsia. The waters rushed downstream, swelling the Dnipro River and eventually flooding a huge portion of the region. Dozens of villages were…  ( 21 min )

The Kappabashi Kitchen Town is a popular destination just off the historic district of Asakusa, another popular neighborhood in Tokyo. For over a century, it has been home to many shops specializing in kitchen supplies, growing bigger in the post-war era. Today, there are over 170 such shops in the area, dealing in every kind of kitchenware from traditional dishes to chef uniforms, and vending machines to the world-famous food samples of Japan. Established in 1907, Niimi is one of the oldest companies based in Kappabashi, and its five-story building is considered an icon of the entire Kitchen Town, topped with a gigantic statue of a mustached chef officially named the "Jumbo Cook." The Jumbo Cook was installed in March 1982 when Niimi renovated its building, and stands  36 feet tall (11 meters). The company's unforgettable face has since spawned numerous urban legends, and according to the most popular (and ridiculous) rumor, it is actually a giant robot in disguise, the rest of its body hidden in the building, and will be activated when Tokyo faces a Godzilla-class danger. Some also believe that the colossal chef keeps a pigeon in each of his eyes. Zoom in to his face and you can see why: the irises are concave, and, inside them, white objects represent the light reflected in his eyes—and their shapes do resemble pigeons when seen from afar.  ( 13 min )

Congrats to my friends who got academic recognition at JSM last month, among whom Bin Yu for her 2023 COPSS Distinguished Achievement Award and Lectureship, Veronika Rockova for her Emerging Leader Award, Nancy Reid for her David R. Cox Foundations of Statistics Award, Malay Ghosh for his Deming Lecture, Andrew Gelman for his Monroe G. […]  ( 6 min )

Congrats to my friends who got academic recognition at JSM last month, among whom Bin Yu for her 2023 COPSS Distinguished Achievement Award and Lectureship, Veronika Rockova for her Emerging Leader Award, Nancy Reid for her David R. Cox Foundations of Statistics Award, Malay Ghosh for his Deming Lecture, Andrew Gelman for his Monroe G. […]  ( 6 min )

These Chilean onion empanadas have a savory onion filling wrapped in a flaky empanada crust  ( 21 min )

Soup and pasta come together in these ten simple and nourishing pasta soup recipes that will warm you up and leave you feeling satisfied.  ( 13 min )

Four of our favorite coffee and espresso makers are 20% off for a limited time.  ( 13 min )

A new editor’s note in Nature highlights concerns about a paper by Google researchers who claimed computer chips designed in just a few hours using artificial intelligence beat chip plans that human experts took months to develop. In the note, published September 20, the journal stated: Readers are alerted that the performance claims in this … Continue reading Nature flags doubts over Google AI study, pulls commentary  ( 8 min )

I work with lots of environmental time series data from stationary instruments. This post describes why you should avoid mixing data and metadata in a single file and instead suggests an easy-to-implement, easy-to-use, maximally compact format consisting of two .csv files linked by unique identifiers. EPA Air Quality System The ... Continue reading: How NOT to format time series data  ( 9 min )

Introduction Continue reading: Mastering Data Visualization with ggplot2: A Guide to Using facet_grid()  ( 6 min )

If you didn’t read or if you don’t remember my post Continue reading: Implicitization for the spherical trochoid  ( 7 min )

This post has been cross-posted on the R-hub blog, and the R-hub blog maintainers have contributed to the review and improvement of this post. Continue reading: System Dependencies in R Packages & Automatic Testing  ( 10 min )

As part of our multilingual publishing project, and with funding from the R Consortium, we’ve worked on the R package babeldown for translating Markdown-based content using the DeepL API. Motivation Continue reading: How to Translate a Hugo Blog Post with Babeldown  ( 29 min )

This post has been cross-posted on the Epiverse-TRACE blog. Continue reading: System Dependencies in R Packages & Automatic Testing  ( 37 min )

I’m in the middle of a perfect storm, winding down three randomized clinical trials (RCTs), with patient recruitment long finished and data collection all wrapped up. This means a lot of data analysis, presentation prep, and paper writing (and not so much blogging). One common (and not so glamorous) ... Continue reading: Creating a nice looking Table 1 with standardized mean differences  ( 35 min )

Recent article in Scientific American: This Ancient Language Has the Only Grammar Based Entirely on the Human Body An endangered language family suggests that early humans used their bodies as a model for reality By Anvita Abbi on June 1, 2023 From just a small handful of Andaman Islanders, the last speakers of their languages, […]  ( 12 min )

Many LL readers are familiar with the archeological site of Boğazköy-Hattusha in north-central Turkey, which was the capital of the Hittite Empire and the place where the Hittite Royal Archives (17th-13th c. BC) were discovered, making it the oldest historically attested Indo-European language (scattered Hittite words in Akkadian documents stretch back to the 20th c. […]  ( 13 min )

A prolific author shares his unique writing system that generates quality books in mere months Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Part 1 of writing the character wound/ghost Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »  ( 8 min )

Here’s why the CDC is so concerned about deadly flesh-eating bacteria and ways to avoid being infected

Human scent signatures could one day be collected at places like crime scenes and COVID testing sites

Governments must “separate climate from geopolitics” and work together to triple renewables and deeply cut planet-warming emissions, says International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol

Astronomers have a new term to describe the pain associated with the loss of access to dark skies: noctalgia

Lessons from past eras when Earth was a hothouse or a snowball tell us whether we are doomed by climate change or still have time to prevent that fate

We need to figure out if there is a constitutional right to compute

Phonics may be a popular way to teach reading, but it fails too many children

A Q&A with Hannah Larson, a recipient of the 2024 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize

The program supports “outstanding theoretical scientists.”  ( 8 min )

Plus: Lower Sioux Indian community pioneers new eco-friendly building technique; union members across Minnesota rally in solidarity with United Auto Workers; local breweries are back to pre-pandemic on-site sales; and more.  ( 6 min )

In Part III of our one-on-one with Chris Finch we focus on the Wolves defense, honing in particularly on the pros and cons of playing Gobert up in coverage more often.  ( 29 min )

With council elections coming up in November, MinnPost asked each candidate where they stood on “rent stabilization.” Here’s how they responded.  ( 15 min )

Fifteen years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Wall Street is as predatory as ever. But a more democratic economy could be rising all around us.  ( 11 min )

The four cannabis stores, which opened after the passage of a 2016 ballot measure, have changed the fortunes of a town that made repeated losing bets on other commodities before finally hitting the jackpot with marijuana.  ( 20 min )

"I felt I could make a journey with these musicians that would make a big difference in my life, and my devotion in my life is music. So I have no time to waste."  ( 21 min )

It was rising crime on platforms and vehicles that led the Legislature to change how Metro Transit deals with safety in part by shifting fare enforcement from cops to civilians.  ( 20 min )

Plus: Duluth Entertainment Convention Center asking city for line of credit; the growing need for mental health counselors for Minnesota students; MPR's Mike Mulcahy retiring after 40 years; and more.  ( 7 min )